Versor Investments LP Makes New Investment in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in TransAlta Corporation, purchasing 56,400 shares valued at approximately $526,000.
• TransAlta recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.065, up from $0.05, signaling positive growth for shareholders.
• Analysts have given TransAlta a consensus rating of "Buy", with a target price increase to $20.00 from previous estimates, indicating strong market confidence.

Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 56,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $526,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in TransAlta by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,212,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,649,000 after acquiring an additional 342,630 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in TransAlta by 48,666.7% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,389 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 4,380 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in TransAlta by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 70,824 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $661,000 after acquiring an additional 14,256 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in TransAlta during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,056,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in TransAlta during the 1st quarter worth approximately $587,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price objective (up previously from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Scotiabank raised TransAlta from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, TransAlta has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $19.88.

TransAlta Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of TAC stock traded up $0.0250 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $12.1550. The company had a trading volume of 973,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,324,426. The firm has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.94 and a beta of 0.75. TransAlta Corporation has a 1-year low of $7.82 and a 1-year high of $14.64. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $11.72 and a 200 day moving average of $10.29.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $451.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $473.94 million. TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 2.06% and a negative net margin of 6.79%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

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

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.