Toronto Dominion Bank Buys 305,647 Shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 17.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,042,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 305,647 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank owned 0.69% of TransAlta worth $28,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TAC. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in TransAlta by 638.9% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 7,995,489 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $112,936,000 after buying an additional 6,913,431 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth about $67,038,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in TransAlta by 512.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,870,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $68,880,000 after buying an additional 4,074,395 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in TransAlta by 280.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,385,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,211,000 after buying an additional 3,969,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in TransAlta by 79.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,255,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $116,764,000 after buying an additional 3,662,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of TransAlta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of TransAlta from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "neutral" rating to an "outperformer" rating and cut their target price for the company from $23.00 to $19.50 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransAlta currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.75.

TransAlta Trading Up 2.3%

TransAlta stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.16. 1,426,121 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,162,678. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.74. TransAlta Co. has a fifty-two week low of $6.78 and a fifty-two week high of $14.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's 50 day moving average is $8.97 and its 200-day moving average is $10.79.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.02). TransAlta had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The business had revenue of $526.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $509.31 million. On average, analysts predict that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

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.