Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Invests $313,000 in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Key Points

• Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd has invested approximately $313,000 in TransAlta Corporation, acquiring 33,444 shares during the first quarter.
• Analysts have expressed positive outlooks for TransAlta, with Scotiabank and Jefferies Financial Group upgrading their ratings, resulting in an average price target of $19.88.
• TransAlta has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.065 per share, which represents a 2.1% yield and is an improvement from the previous dividend of $0.05.

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 33,444 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TAC. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in TransAlta by 145,600.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,380 shares during the last quarter. Tobam lifted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 239.2% in the first quarter. Tobam now owns 10,943 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 7,717 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 1st quarter worth $119,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in TransAlta in the 1st quarter valued at $146,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company's stock.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TAC traded up $0.35 during trading on Monday, hitting $12.99. 1,283,432 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 902,558. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.92 and a beta of 0.78. 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 Corporation has a 1-year low of $7.82 and a 1-year high of $14.64. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $12.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.48.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $451.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $473.94 million. Sell-side analysts expect that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. This is an increase from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -45.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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