Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of TransAlta Call Options (NYSE:TAC)

Key Points

• TransAlta Corporation saw an impressive 1,290% increase in call options trading, with 14,748 options bought on a day when the stock price rose to $17.21.
• The company recently increased its dividend to $0.065 per share, marking a rise from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.05.
• Analyst ratings are mixed, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target average of $19.88 after several upgrades and downgrades from various firms.

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 14,748 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,290% compared to the average daily volume of 1,061 call options.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TAC traded up $1.62 during trading on Monday, reaching $17.21. The stock had a trading volume of 3,261,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,537,044. TransAlta has a 52 week low of $7.82 and a 52 week high of $17.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.95 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98.

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

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. TransAlta's payout ratio is presently -45.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on TAC shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price objective (up previously from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of TransAlta from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 6.0% in the second quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 23,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 145,600.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 6.9% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 3,322 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings 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 valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 4,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 3.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 152,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,660,000 after buying an additional 5,214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.00% of the company's stock.

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.

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