TransAlta Corporation $TAC Shares Bought by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

Key Points

• BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in TransAlta Corporation by 491.9%, acquiring an additional 579,577 shares in the first quarter.
• TransAlta declared a quarterly dividend of $0.065, marking a positive change from the previous dividend of $0.05, with an annualized yield of 2.1%.
• Several analysts have upgraded TransAlta's stock rating recently, with the current consensus rating being "Buy" and a target price of $19.88.

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 491.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 697,393 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 579,577 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned about 0.24% of TransAlta worth $6,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in TransAlta in the 1st quarter valued at about $571,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 1st quarter valued at about $526,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,212,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,649,000 after acquiring an additional 342,630 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 48,666.7% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,389 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 4,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 70,824 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $661,000 after acquiring an additional 14,256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company's stock.

TransAlta Trading Down 2.5%

TAC traded down $0.32 on Friday, reaching $12.30. 2,151,968 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,180,790. The company's 50 day moving average is $11.80 and its 200-day moving average is $10.34. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.27 and a beta of 0.75. TransAlta Corporation has a twelve month low of $7.82 and a twelve month high of $14.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.79.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $451.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $473.94 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 6.79% and a negative return on equity of 2.06%. Equities analysts predict that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio is -45.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price objective (up previously from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of TransAlta from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TransAlta presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.