Wellington Management Group LLP Increases Position in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 321.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 405,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 309,509 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.14% of TransAlta worth $5,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tobam acquired a new stake in TransAlta in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $145,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the fourth quarter worth approximately $147,000. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth approximately $150,000. Finally, Sage Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at $156,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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TransAlta Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:TAC traded down $0.07 on Tuesday, hitting $8.69. The stock had a trading volume of 577,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,141,009. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.10. The stock has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94. TransAlta Co. has a 1-year low of $5.94 and a 1-year high of $14.64.

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

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be given a $0.0458 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. This is a boost from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.90%.

TransAlta Company 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.