Bank of Montreal Can Acquires 1,369,830 Shares of TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Key Points

• Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in TransAlta by 15.1%, buying 1,369,830 shares to hold 10,425,309 shares (~3.51%) valued at about $142.37 million at quarter-end.
• TransAlta missed its latest quarter, reporting EPS of ($0.04) versus a $0.05 estimate and revenue of $436.1 million versus $493.39 million, and showing a negative net margin of 7.51%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a $20.00 target (five Buys, two Holds, one Sell), and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.07 (annualized $0.28, ~2.2% yield).

Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 15.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,425,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,369,830 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 3.51% of TransAlta worth $142,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sage Rhino Capital LLC bought a new position in TransAlta in the third quarter valued at $139,000. Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth about $127,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth about $140,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth about $159,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at about $173,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised TransAlta from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, National Bank Financial lowered shares of TransAlta from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransAlta presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.00.

TransAlta Stock Up 0.7%

TAC stock opened at $12.74 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of -27.10 and a beta of 0.77. TransAlta Corporation has a 1-year low of $7.82 and a 1-year high of $17.88. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $12.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.83.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.09). TransAlta had a negative net margin of 7.51% and a positive return on equity of 10.00%. The business had revenue of $436.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $493.39 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

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

TransAlta Company Profile

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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