2,665,037 Shares in TransAlta Corporation $TAC Acquired by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,665,037 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $36,395,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned about 0.90% of TransAlta at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in TransAlta by 19.5% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 70,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 11,532 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,039,000. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,367,000. Timelo Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter valued at about $647,000. Finally, Greenland Capital Management LP grew its stake in TransAlta by 107.8% during the second quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP now owns 181,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 93,976 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. National Bank Financial cut TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TAC opened at $13.30 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of -28.30 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.81. TransAlta Corporation has a 1-year low of $7.82 and a 1-year high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.09). TransAlta had a negative net margin of 7.51% and a positive return on equity of 9.23%. The firm had revenue of $436.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $493.39 million. As a group, analysts forecast that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a boost from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -40.43%.

About TransAlta

TransAlta Corporation, originally founded in 1909 as Calgary Power Company Ltd., is a publicly traded energy company specializing in the development, ownership and operation of power generation and transmission assets. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, TransAlta has grown from its early hydroelectric roots into a diversified energy provider with a multi-fuel generating fleet.

The company’s core business activities encompass power generation, asset management and energy trading services.