TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) Shares Acquired by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,290,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 716,139 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 3.12% of TransAlta worth $131,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,229,823 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $144,680,000 after buying an additional 150,554 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in TransAlta by 79.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,255,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $116,764,000 after acquiring an additional 3,662,900 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 638.9% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 6,913,431 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in TransAlta by 512.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,870,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $68,880,000 after purchasing an additional 4,074,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,038,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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TransAlta Price Performance

TAC traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $8.68. 739,488 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,145,385. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.11. TransAlta Co. has a 52-week low of $5.94 and a 52-week high of $14.64. The company has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 an increase from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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