EAM Global Investors LLC Makes New Investment in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

EAM Global Investors LLC purchased a new stake in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 638,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,022,000. TransAlta comprises approximately 1.6% of EAM Global Investors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. EAM Global Investors LLC owned about 0.21% of TransAlta as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 27,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of TransAlta by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,621 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares during the last quarter. Tobam acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 147,703 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,090,000 after purchasing an additional 4,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 79,957 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,131,000 after buying an additional 5,593 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TransAlta Stock Down 3.0 %

NYSE:TAC traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $8.46. 169,747 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,141,584. The firm has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94. TransAlta Co. has a fifty-two week low of $6.36 and a fifty-two week high of $14.64.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $484.60 million for the quarter. TransAlta had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 18.47%. Equities research analysts anticipate that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business 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 a boost from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. TransAlta's payout ratio is currently 43.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

TransAlta Company 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.