TransAlta Corporation $TAC Shares Sold by Sculptor Capital LP

Key Points

• Sculptor Capital LP cut its TransAlta stake by 82.2% in the first quarter, selling 2.47 million shares and retaining 533,600 shares valued at approximately $7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 59% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a MarketBeat consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.00, despite ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Strong Sell.
• TransAlta shares opened at $13.70, within a 12-month range of $11.38 to $17.88. Its latest quarterly earnings beat estimates at $0.04 per share, although revenue fell short of analyst expectations and the company reported a negative net margin.

Sculptor Capital LP lessened its holdings in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 82.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 533,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,466,400 shares during the quarter. Sculptor Capital LP owned 0.18% of TransAlta worth $7,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of TransAlta by 493.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,317 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,371,000 after buying an additional 83,414 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in TransAlta by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,818,379 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,999,000 after acquiring an additional 463,266 shares in the last quarter. Capital Innovations LLC acquired a new stake in TransAlta in the fourth quarter valued at $1,259,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in TransAlta by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,123,833 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $140,694,000 after acquiring an additional 174,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in TransAlta during the 4th quarter valued at $45,298,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Scotiabank raised shares of TransAlta to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of TransAlta from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. TD Cowen began coverage on TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Research lowered TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, TransAlta currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.00.

TransAlta Stock Performance

TransAlta stock opened at $13.70 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of -25.36 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $13.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.70. TransAlta Corporation has a 12 month low of $11.38 and a 12 month high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $406.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.36 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 9.46% and a positive return on equity of 9.52%. Research analysts expect that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

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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