Jain Global LLC Takes $8.45 Million Position in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Jain Global LLC acquired a new stake in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 618,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,450,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in TAC. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the 3rd quarter worth $36,395,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in TransAlta by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 70,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 11,532 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,949,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $149,569,000 after acquiring an additional 248,027 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 15.1% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,425,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $142,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenland Capital Management LP raised its stake in TransAlta by 107.8% in the 2nd quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP now owns 181,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 93,976 shares during the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Zacks Research raised TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. National Bank Financial cut TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

TransAlta Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE TAC opened at $12.48 on Tuesday. TransAlta Corporation has a 12 month low of $7.82 and a 12 month high of $17.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.54 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.54, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $436.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $493.39 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 7.51% and a positive return on equity of 10.00%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This is an increase from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -42.55%.

TransAlta Company Profile

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.