Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 257,356 Shares of TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 23.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,338,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 257,356 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.45% of TransAlta worth $17,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the fourth quarter valued at $129,000. Finally, Ritter Alpha LP bought a new stake in TransAlta in the fourth quarter worth $131,000. Institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of TAC stock opened at $13.70 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $13.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.17. TransAlta Corporation has a 52-week low of $11.38 and a 52-week high of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.36 and a beta of 0.69.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 9.52% and a negative net margin of 9.46%.The company had revenue of $406.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.36 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on TAC shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of TransAlta from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. TD Cowen started coverage on TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

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.