Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC Makes New Investment in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Key Points

• Cardinal Point Capital Management acquired 182,010 TransAlta shares worth approximately $2.21 million, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 59% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $24.50; one analyst rates the stock Strong Buy, six rate it Buy, and two rate it Hold.
• TransAlta reported quarterly EPS of $0.13, exceeding estimates of $0.11, and pays a quarterly dividend of C$0.07, equivalent to a 2.1% annual yield.

Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 182,010 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,209,000. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC owned approximately 0.06% of TransAlta at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TAC. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the second quarter valued at $123,434,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 1st quarter worth about $34,128,000. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,799,000. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,349,000. Finally, Man Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth about $19,626,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of TransAlta from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of TransAlta from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, TransAlta presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.50.

TransAlta Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of TAC opened at $13.33 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84. TransAlta Corporation has a 52-week low of $11.38 and a 52-week high of $17.88. The company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -74.07 and a beta of 0.75.

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

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a C$0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. TransAlta's payout ratio is currently -111.11%.

TransAlta Company Profile

TransAlta Corporation is a Canada-based power generation and wholesale marketing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of electricity-generating facilities, including hydroelectric, wind, solar, natural gas and coal-fired power assets.

TransAlta supplies electricity to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and wholesale markets. Its activities include power generation, energy marketing, asset management and the development of renewable energy projects.

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