415,048 Shares in TransAlta Corporation $TAC Bought by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital acquired 415,048 TransAlta shares worth approximately $5.45 million, while institutional investors collectively own 59% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: TransAlta has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $23 average price target, with recent firms issuing buy, outperform, and strong-buy recommendations.
• TransAlta reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $0.13, exceeding the $0.11 estimate, and reaffirmed its guidance. The company also declared a $0.07 quarterly dividend, though its high debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61 and current ratio of 0.76 highlight financial risks.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 415,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,448,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.14% of TransAlta at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in TransAlta by 27.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 208,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after buying an additional 45,478 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in TransAlta by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 152,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,660,000 after purchasing an additional 5,214 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in TransAlta by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,075,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,601,000 after purchasing an additional 170,829 shares in the last quarter. Westerly Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,281,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of TransAlta by 418.8% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 295,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,186,000 after purchasing an additional 238,422 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on TAC. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Friday, July 17th. Scotiabank upgraded TransAlta to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of TransAlta from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TransAlta currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Key Headlines Impacting TransAlta

Here are the key news stories impacting TransAlta this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TransAlta delivered adjusted earnings of $0.13 per share, exceeding the $0.11 analyst consensus estimate by $0.02. Management also described operational performance as strong across its diversified power portfolio and reaffirmed its full-year guidance, supporting expectations for reliable cash flow. TransAlta Reports Strong Second Quarter Results and Reaffirms Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of approximately 2.2%. The dividend is payable October 1 to shareholders of record September 1, providing ongoing income support for investors.
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings release highlighted dependable free-cash-flow generation and portfolio diversification, but the supplied reports did not provide enough additional detail on revenue, cash flow, or segment performance to determine whether results materially changed the company’s valuation outlook. TransAlta Q2 Earnings Snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings beat did not translate into a favorable market reaction. TransAlta continues to report a negative net margin of 9.46%, while its high debt-to-equity ratio and current ratio below 1 indicate leverage and liquidity risks that may be limiting investor enthusiasm despite the reaffirmed outlook.

TransAlta Price Performance

TAC stock opened at $12.50 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -69.44 and a beta of 0.70. TransAlta Corporation has a 12 month low of $11.38 and a 12 month high of $17.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $13.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.18.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 10.11% and a negative net margin of 2.76%.The firm had revenue of $342.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.54 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. 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, September 1st. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio is currently -37.04%.

About TransAlta

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.

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