Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Has $2.33 Million Holdings in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL decreased its position in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 42.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,823 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 123,491 shares during the quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL owned 0.06% of TransAlta worth $2,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

TransAlta Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:TAC traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $8.62. 268,448 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,147,682. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02 and a beta of 0.71. TransAlta Co. has a 1 year low of $6.78 and a 1 year high of $14.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $9.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.89.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.02). TransAlta had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The company had revenue of $526.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $509.31 million. Equities analysts anticipate that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a $0.0458 dividend. This is a boost from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. TransAlta's payout ratio is presently 43.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of TransAlta from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. 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 shares of TransAlta from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. CIBC raised shares of TransAlta from a "neutral" rating to an "outperformer" rating and cut their target price for the company from $23.00 to $19.50 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered TransAlta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.75.

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.