TransAlta Corporation $TAC Stock Holdings Lifted by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in TransAlta Corporation by 7.0%, owning approximately 5.2 million shares valued at $48.6 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• TransAlta recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.065, up from the previous dividend of $0.05, representing a 2.1% dividend yield.
• Analysts have shown increased confidence in TransAlta, with several firms upgrading their ratings, including TD Securities raising its price target from $19.00 to $20.00.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,212,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 342,630 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.76% of TransAlta worth $48,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in TAC. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of TransAlta by 280.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,385,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,211,000 after acquiring an additional 3,969,037 shares in the last quarter. Potrero Capital Research LLC increased its position in shares of TransAlta by 373.2% in the fourth quarter. Potrero Capital Research LLC now owns 2,323,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,884,000 after acquiring an additional 1,832,803 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of TransAlta by 1,150.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 904,342 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,456,000 after acquiring an additional 832,000 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of TransAlta by 86.6% in the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 942,962 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,802,000 after acquiring an additional 437,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the first quarter worth $3,937,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company's stock.

TransAlta Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE TAC traded up $0.0250 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $12.1550. 973,961 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,324,426. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98. TransAlta Corporation has a 12 month low of $7.82 and a 12 month high of $14.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of -28.94 and a beta of 0.75.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.06. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 6.79% and a negative return on equity of 2.06%. The company had revenue of $451.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $473.94 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is an increase from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. TransAlta's payout ratio is -45.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TAC. Scotiabank raised shares of TransAlta from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $16.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of TransAlta from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price target (up from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, TransAlta currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $19.88.

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.