Wellington Management Group LLP Invests $998,000 in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 96,206 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $998,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,951 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta in the third quarter worth about $61,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at about $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company's stock.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of TAC stock traded down $0.06 on Friday, reaching $13.85. 2,063,935 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 813,302. TransAlta Co. has a 1 year low of $5.94 and a 1 year high of $14.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $11.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.25. The company has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43 and a beta of 0.91.

TransAlta Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.0423 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TAC. Scotiabank upgraded TransAlta to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Desjardins reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of TransAlta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday.

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.