Swiss National Bank Buys 51,500 Shares of TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank increased its stake in TransAlta Corporation by 10.3%, acquiring 51,500 additional shares for a total of 552,600 shares, valued at approximately $5.16 million.
• TransAlta announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.05 to $0.065, translating to a 2.1% yield, with significant institutional investor interest in the company.
• Analysts are optimistic about TransAlta's stock, with a consensus target price of $19.88, and recent upgrades from ratings agencies, including TD Securities raising the target price from $19.00 to $20.00.

Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 552,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 51,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.19% of TransAlta worth $5,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in TransAlta by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,291,968 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $96,055,000 after buying an additional 62,145 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in TransAlta during the first quarter worth $355,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in TransAlta by 0.7% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 5,049,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,119,000 after buying an additional 33,676 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in TransAlta by 27.5% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 14,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in TransAlta during the first quarter worth $3,937,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TAC traded down $0.1910 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.1190. The company had a trading volume of 2,753,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,237,359. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $11.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.29. TransAlta Corporation has a 12 month low of $7.82 and a 12 month high of $14.64. The firm has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.85 and a beta of 0.75.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.06. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 6.79% and a negative return on equity of 2.06%. The business had revenue of $451.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $473.94 million. As a group, analysts predict that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is a boost from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio is -45.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on TAC. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. National Bankshares reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 target price (up from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of 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 research note on Friday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransAlta currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $19.88.

About TransAlta

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.