Bank of Nova Scotia Makes New Investment in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia acquired 2.05 million TransAlta shares worth approximately $28.3 million, giving it a 0.65% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own about 59% of the company.
• TransAlta reported quarterly EPS of $0.13, beating the $0.11 consensus estimate, although revenue of $342.9 million fell short of forecasts. Analysts’ average rating is “Moderate Buy,” with a $24.50 target price.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.28 payout and a 2.3% yield; TAC recently traded at $12.22.

Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,049,412 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $28,349,000. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.65% of TransAlta at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its position in shares of TransAlta by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,818,379 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $22,999,000 after buying an additional 463,266 shares in the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc bought a new position in TransAlta during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,073,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in TransAlta by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,629,540 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $21,343,000 after acquiring an additional 91,665 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 1st quarter worth about $5,448,000. Finally, Capital Innovations LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company's stock.

TransAlta Stock Performance

TAC stock opened at $12.22 on Monday. TransAlta Corporation has a 1 year low of $11.38 and a 1 year high of $17.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.89 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock's fifty day moving average is $13.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.15.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $342.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.54 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 2.76% and a positive return on equity of 8.85%. On average, research analysts predict that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -111.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings cut TransAlta from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TransAlta currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.50.

TransAlta 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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