Candelo Capital Management LP Invests $5.60 Million in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Candelo Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 395,938 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,603,000. TransAlta makes up 2.8% of Candelo Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Candelo Capital Management LP owned 0.13% of TransAlta at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TAC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of TransAlta by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,229,823 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $144,680,000 after buying an additional 150,554 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in TransAlta by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,290,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $131,222,000 after acquiring an additional 716,139 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 79.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,255,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $116,764,000 after acquiring an additional 3,662,900 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of TransAlta by 638.9% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 7,995,489 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $112,936,000 after acquiring an additional 6,913,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 512.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,870,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $68,880,000 after purchasing an additional 4,074,395 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TransAlta Stock Down 0.3 %

TransAlta stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $8.97. The stock had a trading volume of 150,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,142,984. The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.67. TransAlta Co. has a one year low of $6.51 and a one year high of $14.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $9.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.99.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.28). TransAlta had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The firm had revenue of $484.60 million for the quarter. On average, analysts expect that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.0458 per share. This is an increase from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on TAC. Cibc World Mkts upgraded TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Scotiabank lowered shares of TransAlta from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of TransAlta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, CIBC raised TransAlta from a "neutral" rating to an "outperformer" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $19.50 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.50.

TransAlta Profile

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.