Millennium Management LLC Boosts Stake in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC significantly increased its stake in TransAlta Corporation by acquiring an additional 10,957,858 shares, raising its total holdings to over 16 million shares valued at approximately $153.8 million, representing a 199.1% increase.
• Several hedge funds, including Caption Management LLC and Trexquant Investment LP, have also boosted their positions in TransAlta, indicating strong institutional interest with about 59% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• TransAlta announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.05 to $0.065 per share, which reflects a yield of 2.1%, while analysts have set a consensus price target of $19.88 for the company.

Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 199.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,462,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,957,858 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 5.55% of TransAlta worth $153,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in TransAlta by 280.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,385,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,211,000 after acquiring an additional 3,969,037 shares during the last quarter. Potrero Capital Research LLC grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 373.2% during the fourth quarter. Potrero Capital Research LLC now owns 2,323,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,884,000 after buying an additional 1,832,803 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 1,150.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 904,342 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,456,000 after buying an additional 832,000 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 491.9% during the first quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 697,393 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,510,000 after buying an additional 579,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the first quarter worth $4,200,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TransAlta Stock Performance

TAC traded up $0.32 on Wednesday, hitting $12.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 565,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,526,974. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $12.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.42. The firm has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.15 and a beta of 0.78. TransAlta Corporation has a 12 month low of $7.82 and a 12 month high of $14.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.06. The company 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%. Analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio is currently -45.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on TAC shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. National Bankshares restated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 price target (up from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.