TransAlta Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:TAC)

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors bought 14,748 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,290% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,061 call options.

TransAlta Trading Up 9.7%

Shares of NYSE TAC opened at $17.10 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.70 and a beta of 0.79. TransAlta has a 1-year low of $7.82 and a 1-year high of $17.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $13.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.13.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $451.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $473.94 million. TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 2.06% and a negative net margin of 6.79%. Equities research analysts expect that TransAlta will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. This is an increase from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -45.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Monday, October 6th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (up previously from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 145,600.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in TransAlta by 48,666.7% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 4,380 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the second quarter valued at about $127,000. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the second quarter valued at about $134,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the first quarter valued at about $119,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.