XTX Topco Ltd Sells 47,700 Shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

XTX Topco Ltd reduced its position in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 50.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,095 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 47,700 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in TransAlta were worth $326,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TAC. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in TransAlta by 156.3% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 1,381.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,237 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 3,951 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in TransAlta during the 1st quarter worth $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company's stock.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TAC traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 851,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 749,928. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.81 and a beta of 0.91. TransAlta Co. has a fifty-two week low of $5.94 and a fifty-two week high of $10.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.84. The business's 50 day moving average price is $8.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.43.

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 net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 47.71%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that TransAlta Co. will post 0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st will be paid a $0.044 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This is a positive change from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

TransAlta 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.