Artemis Investment Management LLP Buys 463,266 Shares of TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Key Points

• Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in TransAlta by 34.2%, buying 463,266 shares to hold 1,818,379 shares (about 0.61% of the company) valued at roughly $23.0 million at quarter-end.
• Several other institutional investors also raised positions (notably Invesco, UBS and Balyasny), leaving about 59% of the stock owned by institutions.
• Analysts have an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $21.33 after recent upgrades, while TransAlta recently missed EPS and has a negative P/E; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.07 (annualized $0.28, ~2.2% yield).

Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 34.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,818,379 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 463,266 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned about 0.61% of TransAlta worth $22,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TAC. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 27.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 45,478 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 3.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 152,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,660,000 after purchasing an additional 5,214 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 18.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,075,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,601,000 after purchasing an additional 170,829 shares during the last quarter. Westerly Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,281,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 418.8% during the second 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 last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, April 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.33.

TransAlta Stock Up 0.0%

TransAlta stock opened at $12.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.56 and a beta of 0.66. TransAlta Corporation has a 1-year low of $8.34 and a 1-year high of $17.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.54.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last released its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $436.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $493.39 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 7.51% and a positive return on equity of 10.00%. Research analysts anticipate that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. TransAlta's payout ratio is -40.43%.

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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