Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Makes New Investment in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 91,598 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,267,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in TransAlta by 27.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 208,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 45,478 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 3.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 152,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,660,000 after buying an additional 5,214 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in TransAlta by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,075,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,601,000 after buying an additional 170,829 shares during the last quarter. Westerly Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,281,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in TransAlta by 418.8% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 295,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,186,000 after buying an additional 238,422 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on TAC. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Scotiabank raised shares of TransAlta to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered TransAlta from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.50.

TransAlta Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE TAC opened at $12.41 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $12.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.06. 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 capitalization of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -68.97 and a beta of 0.70.

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

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -111.11%.

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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