Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Takes Position in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in TransAlta Corporation, purchasing 450,000 shares worth approximately $4.2 million, representing a 0.15% ownership of the company.
• TransAlta's stock has received positive ratings from various analysts, with a revised price target of $20.00 from TD Securities, and an average analyst rating of "Buy".
• The company recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.065 per share, up from a previous $0.05, indicating a positive financial outlook.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 450,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,200,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.15% of TransAlta at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in TAC. NBC Securities Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 2,912 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in TransAlta by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 69,004 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $976,000 after buying an additional 3,499 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in TransAlta by 48,666.7% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,389 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 4,380 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 64.9% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 17,525 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 6,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam boosted its position in TransAlta by 239.2% during the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 10,943 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 7,717 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company's stock.

TransAlta Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE TAC traded up $0.00 on Monday, hitting $12.28. 268,674 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,531,002. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.72. TransAlta Corporation has a 52-week low of $7.82 and a 52-week high of $14.64. The company's 50-day moving average price is $11.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.30 and a beta of 0.78.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.06. TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 2.06% and a negative net margin of 6.79%.The firm had revenue of $451.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $473.94 million. Research analysts predict that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a $0.065 dividend. This is a boost from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -45.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $16.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. National Bankshares reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 target price (up from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TransAlta currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price 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.