TransAlta Corporation $TAC Stock Holdings Boosted by Yaupon Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Yaupon Capital Management LP increased its stake in TransAlta Corporation by 138.0% in Q1, now owning approximately 1.68 million shares valued at around $15.68 million.
• TransAlta recently upgraded its quarterly dividend from $0.05 to $0.065 per share, effective October 1st, which results in an annual yield of 2.1%.
• Scotiabank and TD Securities both issued positive ratings for TransAlta, with Scotiabank raising its target price from $16.00 to $20.00, indicative of expected growth.

Yaupon Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 138.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,680,101 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 974,253 shares during the period. Yaupon Capital Management LP owned about 0.57% of TransAlta worth $15,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 145,600.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 48,666.7% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,389 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,380 shares during the last quarter. Tobam boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 239.2% in the first quarter. Tobam now owns 10,943 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 7,717 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main purchased a new position in TransAlta in the fourth quarter valued at about $167,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in TransAlta in the first quarter valued at about $119,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company's stock.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of TransAlta stock remained flat at $12.65 on Friday. The stock had a trading volume of 699,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 905,093. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.12 and a beta of 0.78. TransAlta Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $7.82 and a fifty-two week high of $14.64.

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

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be given 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 an increase from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. TransAlta's payout ratio is -45.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 price target (up previously from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. National Bankshares restated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded TransAlta from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. One equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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.