Yaupon Capital Management LP Has $9.98 Million Stock Holdings in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Yaupon Capital Management LP reduced its holdings in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 73.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 705,848 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,980,107 shares during the period. Yaupon Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.24% of TransAlta worth $9,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 638.9% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 7,995,489 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $112,936,000 after purchasing an additional 6,913,431 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in TransAlta in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,038,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in TransAlta by 512.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,870,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $68,880,000 after buying an additional 4,074,395 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 79.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,255,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $116,764,000 after buying an additional 3,662,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of TransAlta by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,290,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $131,222,000 after buying an additional 716,139 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

TransAlta Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of TAC stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.00. 1,487,313 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,146,936. TransAlta Co. has a 52 week low of $6.51 and a 52 week 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $9.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95 and a beta of 0.72.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last released 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). TransAlta had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 6.38%. The firm had revenue of $484.60 million for the quarter. Analysts anticipate that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.0458 per share. This is a boost from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.