Trexquant Investment LP Buys 265,597 Shares of TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 301.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 353,732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 265,597 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in TransAlta were worth $3,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 491.9% in the 1st quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 697,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,510,000 after buying an additional 579,577 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in TransAlta in the 1st quarter worth approximately $571,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in TransAlta in the 1st quarter worth approximately $526,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,212,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,649,000 after buying an additional 342,630 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 48,666.7% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 4,380 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TransAlta Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:TAC opened at $12.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.72. TransAlta Corporation has a one year low of $7.82 and a one year high of $14.64. The company has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.81 and a beta of 0.78.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $451.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $473.94 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 6.79% and a negative return on equity of 2.06%. Analysts anticipate that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. This is an increase from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is -45.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on TAC. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of TransAlta from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (up from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Scotiabank raised shares of TransAlta from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $16.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, National Bankshares reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $19.88.

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.