Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 76,767 Shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 10.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 679,866 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 76,767 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.23% of TransAlta worth $4,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 156.3% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co boosted its stake in TransAlta by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 148,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 3,375 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in TransAlta by 1,381.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,237 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 3,951 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in TransAlta by 26.1% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 38,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 8,058 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of TransAlta from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TAC traded up $0.06 on Thursday, reaching $10.26. 731,221 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 754,728. TransAlta Co. has a twelve month low of $5.94 and a twelve month high of $10.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.18 and a 200-day moving average of $7.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.62 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 (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $425.37 million for 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 company earned $0.17 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that TransAlta Co. will post 0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st were given a $0.044 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. This is a boost from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.97%.

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.