TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) Shares Sold by Ardsley Advisory Partners LP

Ardsley Advisory Partners LP trimmed its position in shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 25.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 675,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 225,000 shares during the period. TransAlta makes up approximately 1.5% of Ardsley Advisory Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Ardsley Advisory Partners LP owned approximately 0.23% of TransAlta worth $9,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

TransAlta Stock Performance

NYSE TAC traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $8.66. The stock had a trading volume of 280,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,148,656. TransAlta Co. has a 52-week low of $6.78 and a 52-week high of $14.64. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.11 and a 200 day moving average of $10.90.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 18.47%. Sell-side analysts predict that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be given a $0.0458 dividend. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. 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 currently 43.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.