Caption Management LLC Makes New $544,000 Investment in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Caption Management LLC purchased a new position in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 38,449 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $544,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tobam bought a new position in TransAlta in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter worth approximately $145,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter worth approximately $147,000. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in TransAlta during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Finally, Sage Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth $156,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of TAC stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.67. 1,323,619 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,150,671. The company's 50 day moving average price is $9.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15 and a beta of 0.71. TransAlta Co. has a 12 month low of $6.78 and a 12 month high of $14.64.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.02). TransAlta had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 6.38%. The firm had revenue of $526.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $509.31 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.0458 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. This is a boost from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of TransAlta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Scotiabank downgraded TransAlta from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, CIBC raised TransAlta from a "neutral" rating to an "outperformer" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $19.50 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.75.

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.