TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) to Issue $0.04 Quarterly Dividend

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.044 per share by the utilities provider on Wednesday, January 1st. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th.

TransAlta has increased its dividend by an average of 8.6% annually over the last three years. TransAlta has a dividend payout ratio of 50.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect TransAlta to earn $0.56 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.17 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.4%.

TransAlta Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:TAC traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $10.16. The stock had a trading volume of 447,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 746,050. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 6.73 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43. The firm's fifty day moving average is $9.65 and its 200 day moving average is $8.00. TransAlta has a 12 month low of $5.94 and a 12 month high of $10.73.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $425.37 million during the quarter. TransAlta had a return on equity of 47.71% and a net margin of 18.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. Analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded TransAlta from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

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.