Pinnbrook Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Key Points

• Pinnbrook Capital Management LP bought 172,238 shares of TransAlta (~$2.35M), representing about 0.06% of the company, and institutional investors now own roughly 59% of the stock.
• TransAlta missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of -$0.04 versus a $0.05 estimate and revenue of $436.1M versus $493.4M, while the stock trades near $12.45 with a negative P/E and a $3.69B market cap.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.07 (annualized $0.28) for a yield of about 2.2% (ex-dividend June 1), and analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $20.00.

Pinnbrook Capital Management LP bought a new position in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 172,238 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,354,000. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP owned about 0.06% of TransAlta as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TAC. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter valued at about $127,000. Sage Rhino Capital LLC acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the third quarter worth about $139,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the second quarter worth about $140,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new position in TransAlta during the second quarter worth about $159,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in TransAlta during the second quarter worth about $173,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company's stock.

TransAlta Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE TAC opened at $12.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.54, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.48 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's 50-day moving average is $12.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.82. TransAlta Corporation has a 12 month low of $7.82 and a 12 month high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $436.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $493.39 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 7.51% and a positive return on equity of 10.00%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio is -42.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on TAC shares. National Bank Financial cut shares of TransAlta from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded TransAlta from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.00.

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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