JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $1.37 Million Stock Holdings in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase boosted its stake in TransAlta by 493.5% in Q3 to 100,317 shares, worth about $1.37 million.
• TransAlta missed quarterly EPS and revenue estimates (EPS of ($0.04)), shows a negative net margin, but raised its quarterly dividend to $0.07 (annualized $0.28, ~2.0% yield) with an ex-dividend date of June 1.
• The stock carries a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average analyst target of $21.33 and recent upgrades including RBC's $24 price objective.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 493.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 100,317 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 83,414 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s holdings in TransAlta were worth $1,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in TransAlta during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,395,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in TransAlta by 15.1% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,425,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $142,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369,830 shares during the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP boosted its position in TransAlta by 5.4% during the third quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 6,415,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $87,648,000 after purchasing an additional 330,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in TransAlta by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,949,384 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $149,569,000 after purchasing an additional 248,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aventail Capital Group LP acquired a new position in TransAlta during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,633,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TransAlta Stock Performance

TAC opened at $13.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.37 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.54. TransAlta Corporation has a 12-month low of $7.94 and a 12-month high of $17.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $13.06 and a 200-day moving average of $13.87.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.09). TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 10.00% and a negative net margin of 7.51%.The firm had revenue of $436.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $493.39 million. On average, equities research analysts expect 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, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -40.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. National Bank Financial raised TransAlta from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TransAlta currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.33.

TransAlta Profile

TransAlta Corporation, originally founded in 1909 as Calgary Power Company Ltd., is a publicly traded energy company specializing in the development, ownership and operation of power generation and transmission assets. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, TransAlta has grown from its early hydroelectric roots into a diversified energy provider with a multi-fuel generating fleet.

The company's core business activities encompass power generation, asset management and energy trading services.

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