TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Shares Set to Pay Quarterly Dividend of C$0.07

Key Points

• TransAlta declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.07 per share, payable January 1 to shareholders of record December 1. The annualized dividend is C$0.28, representing a 2.2% yield.
• The company’s current 117.6% payout ratio indicates dividends are not covered by earnings alone, although analysts expect improved coverage next year with a projected payout ratio of 51.3%.
• TransAlta shares opened at $12.79, near the middle of their 52-week range, while the company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.13 exceeded analyst expectations of $0.11 despite lower-than-expected revenue.

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of C$0.07 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, January 1st. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st.

TransAlta has a payout ratio of 117.6% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect TransAlta to earn $0.39 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.3%.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of TAC opened at $12.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -71.06 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.92. TransAlta has a 52-week low of $11.38 and a 52-week high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $342.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $379.54 million. As a group, research analysts predict that TransAlta will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Company Profile

TransAlta Corporation is a Canada-based power generation and wholesale marketing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of electricity-generating facilities, including hydroelectric, wind, solar, natural gas and coal-fired power assets.

TransAlta supplies electricity to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and wholesale markets. Its activities include power generation, energy marketing, asset management and the development of renewable energy projects.

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