Bank of Nova Scotia Reduces Position in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC)

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its holdings in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 31.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,462,506 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 686,167 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.49% of TransAlta worth $13,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in TransAlta by 145,600.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Tobam grew its position in shares of TransAlta by 239.2% in the first quarter. Tobam now owns 10,943 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 7,717 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $147,000. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in TransAlta by 64.9% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 17,525 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 6,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main acquired a new position in TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth $167,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TransAlta Stock Performance

NYSE TAC opened at $12.40 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.19. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of -29.52 and a beta of 0.75. TransAlta Corporation has a twelve month low of $7.40 and a twelve month high of $14.64.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.06. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 6.79% and a negative return on equity of 1.95%. The company had revenue of $451.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $473.94 million. Equities analysts anticipate that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio is presently -950.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on TAC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on TransAlta from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, TransAlta has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.83.

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.

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