Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 180,484 Shares of TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP has reduced its stake in TransAlta Corporation by 44.5%, now holding 225,231 shares worth approximately $2.1 million after selling 180,484 shares.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in TransAlta, with NBC Securities Inc. raising its stake by 145,600% and Caitong International Asset Management increasing by 48,666.7%.
• TransAlta recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.065 per share, up from the previous $0.05, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.1%.

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its stake in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 44.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 225,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 180,484 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.08% of TransAlta worth $2,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 145,600.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in TransAlta by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 69,004 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 3,499 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 48,666.7% during 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. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 64.9% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 17,525 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 6,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 7,717 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company's stock.

TransAlta Price Performance

NYSE:TAC traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.08. 88,345 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,535,959. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98. TransAlta Corporation has a 1-year low of $7.82 and a 1-year high of $14.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of -28.70 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $11.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.39.

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

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -45.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TAC has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. National Bankshares restated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price target (up from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $19.88.

TransAlta 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.