56,400 Shares in TransAlta Corporation $TAC Acquired by Versor Investments LP

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 purchased a new position in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 56,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $526,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in TransAlta by 7.0% in 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 raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,380 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 25.2% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 70,824 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 14,256 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the first quarter worth about $2,056,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the first quarter valued at approximately $587,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of TransAlta from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on TransAlta from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, TD Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 target price (up previously from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, TransAlta has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $19.88.

TransAlta Price Performance

TAC stock traded down $0.1910 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.1190. 2,753,944 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, 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. TransAlta Corporation has a 12-month low of $7.82 and a 12-month high of $14.64. The stock's 50 day moving average is $11.71 and its 200 day moving average is $10.29. The company has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.85 and a beta of 0.75.

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

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. This is an increase from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio is presently -42.86%.

TransAlta Company Profile

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.