TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) Short Interest Down 33.9% in September

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,180,000 shares, a drop of 33.9% from the September 15th total of 6,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 787,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

TransAlta Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE TAC traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 630,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,098. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43. TransAlta has a 52 week low of $5.94 and a 52 week high of $10.73. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $9.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.74.

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

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were given a $0.044 dividend. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. This is an increase from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TAC. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 156.3% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 1,381.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,237 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 3,951 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in TransAlta during the 1st quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors own 59.00% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.