295,782 Shares in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) Acquired by Pinnbrook Capital Management LP

Pinnbrook Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 295,782 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,185,000. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.10% of TransAlta as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 5,622,961 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $58,254,000 after purchasing an additional 935,803 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of TransAlta by 9.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,593,023 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,613,000 after buying an additional 408,184 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the third quarter worth about $998,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in TransAlta during the third quarter worth about $518,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in TransAlta during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,812,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company's stock.

TransAlta Trading Down 3.6 %

TAC stock traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.88. 5,542,753 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,180,275. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.39 and a beta of 0.83. TransAlta Co. has a 1-year low of $5.94 and a 1-year high of $14.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.28). TransAlta had a return on equity of 17.46% and a net margin of 5.72%. The business had revenue of $484.60 million for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts predict that TransAlta Co. will post 0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be issued a $0.0458 dividend. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. This is a positive change from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank downgraded TransAlta from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com cut TransAlta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. CIBC upgraded TransAlta from a "neutral" rating to an "outperformer" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $19.50 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Desjardins reissued a "hold" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.50.

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.