TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) Holdings Reduced by Timelo Investment Management Inc.

Timelo Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 52.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 333,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 375,000 shares during the period. TransAlta makes up approximately 3.3% of Timelo Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Timelo Investment Management Inc. owned 0.11% of TransAlta worth $4,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TAC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in TransAlta by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,229,823 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $144,680,000 after purchasing an additional 150,554 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in TransAlta by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,290,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $131,222,000 after buying an additional 716,139 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in TransAlta by 79.7% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,255,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $116,764,000 after buying an additional 3,662,900 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in TransAlta by 638.9% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 7,995,489 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $112,936,000 after buying an additional 6,913,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 512.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,870,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $68,880,000 after acquiring an additional 4,074,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company's stock.

TransAlta Price Performance

TAC stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $8.97. 329,876 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,143,435. The company has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84 and a beta of 0.72. TransAlta Co. has a 12-month low of $6.51 and a 12-month high of $14.64. The stock's 50 day moving average is $9.41 and its 200 day moving average is $10.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $484.60 million during the quarter. TransAlta had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 18.47%. On average, research analysts expect that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.0458 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. This is a boost from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. TransAlta's payout ratio is currently 43.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut TransAlta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on TransAlta in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. CIBC raised TransAlta from a "neutral" rating to an "outperformer" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $23.00 to $19.50 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of TransAlta from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.50.

About TransAlta

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.