TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Upgraded at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Desjardins restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

TransAlta Stock Up 5.4 %

TAC stock opened at $13.48 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.43 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.67. TransAlta has a 12 month low of $5.94 and a 12 month high of $13.53.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.044 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. TransAlta’s payout ratio is 45.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of TransAlta by 20.0% in the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 5,622,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,254,000 after acquiring an additional 935,803 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of TransAlta by 9.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,593,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,613,000 after acquiring an additional 408,184 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of TransAlta by 9.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,618,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,267,000 after acquiring an additional 299,594 shares during the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of TransAlta by 69.9% in the third quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 2,685,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,840,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of TransAlta by 5.6% in the second quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,912,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,557,000 after acquiring an additional 101,200 shares during the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TransAlta Company Profile

TransAlta Corporation engages in the development, production, and sale of electric energy. It operates through Hydro, Wind and Solar, Gas, Energy Transition, and Energy Marketing segments. The Hydro segment holds interest of approximately 922 megawatts (MW) of owned hydroelectric generating capacity located in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.