Candelo Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Candelo Capital Management LP bought a new position in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 395,938 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,603,000. TransAlta makes up about 2.8% of Candelo Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Candelo Capital Management LP owned about 0.13% of TransAlta as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in TransAlta by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 917,886 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,989,000 after purchasing an additional 62,269 shares in the last quarter. Covalis Capital LLP purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter valued at $4,005,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in TransAlta by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 73,942 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,041,000 after buying an additional 5,168 shares during the period. EAM Global Investors LLC purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the 4th quarter worth about $9,022,000. Finally, EAM Investors LLC purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the 4th quarter worth about $1,398,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company's stock.

TransAlta Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of TAC stock opened at $8.56 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $9.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.02. TransAlta Co. has a twelve month low of $6.46 and a twelve month 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 0.72.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported ($0.16) earnings per share 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 during the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.0458 per share. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. TransAlta's payout ratio is currently 43.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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