Barclays PLC Raises Stake in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Barclays PLC raised its position in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 281.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 105,562 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in TransAlta were worth $1,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TAC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in TransAlta in the second quarter valued at $172,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 173.4% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 21,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 13,444 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of TransAlta by 9.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in TransAlta by 8.9% during the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 640,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,543,000 after purchasing an additional 52,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 112.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 34,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 18,379 shares in the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TransAlta Stock Performance

NYSE:TAC opened at $14.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.49 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $11.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.56. TransAlta Co. has a 1-year low of $5.94 and a 1-year high of $14.64.

TransAlta Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.0423 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Desjardins restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

About TransAlta

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.