Potrero Capital Research LLC Acquires 1,832,803 Shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Potrero Capital Research LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 373.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,323,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,832,803 shares during the period. TransAlta makes up about 11.0% of Potrero Capital Research LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Potrero Capital Research LLC owned approximately 0.78% of TransAlta worth $32,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of TransAlta by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 27,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the last quarter. Tobam purchased a new position in TransAlta during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in TransAlta by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 126,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after buying an additional 4,140 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in TransAlta by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 147,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,090,000 after buying an additional 4,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of TransAlta by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 73,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 5,168 shares during the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TransAlta Stock Performance

NYSE:TAC opened at $8.98 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.03 and a 200 day moving average of $10.87. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90 and a beta of 0.71. TransAlta Co. has a 1-year low of $6.78 and a 1-year high of $14.64. 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) (TSE:TA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.02). TransAlta had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 6.38%. The firm had revenue of $526.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $509.31 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.0458 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. This is an increase from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. TransAlta’s payout ratio is presently -900.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on TransAlta in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on TransAlta from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. CIBC upgraded TransAlta from a “neutral” rating to an “outperformer” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $23.00 to $19.50 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded TransAlta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.75.

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.