Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 37,100 Shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,693,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 37,100 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.57% of TransAlta worth $23,960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of TAC. Tobam acquired a new position in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter valued at $145,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the fourth quarter valued at about $147,000. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter worth approximately $150,000. Finally, Sage Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth $156,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of TransAlta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. CIBC upgraded TransAlta from a "neutral" rating to an "outperformer" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $19.50 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Scotiabank lowered TransAlta from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, TransAlta has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.50.

TransAlta Stock Performance

NYSE TAC traded up $0.04 on Friday, hitting $8.71. 1,025,465 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,146,372. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25 and a beta of 0.72. TransAlta Co. has a 12 month low of $6.22 and a 12 month high of $14.64. The business's fifty day moving average is $9.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.05.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $484.60 million for the quarter. TransAlta had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 6.38%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.0458 per share. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio is 43.90%.

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.