TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Trading Up 6.9% - Here's Why

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA shares traded up 6.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $11.20 and last traded at $11.29. 229,881 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 2,011,030 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

TransAlta Stock Down 3.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $12.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.39 and a beta of 0.83.

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

TransAlta Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

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

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.