Sculptor Capital LP Purchases Shares of 3,000,000 TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Sculptor Capital LP purchased a new stake in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 3,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $37,958,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TAC. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 32.9% in the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 15,948,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $172,084,000 after purchasing an additional 3,948,451 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the fourth quarter worth $45,298,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,295,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $168,163,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870,026 shares in the last quarter. Aventail Capital Group LP bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the third quarter worth $38,633,000. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the third quarter worth $36,395,000. Institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on TAC shares. Scotiabank raised shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of TransAlta from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.25.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of TAC opened at $13.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.16 and a beta of 0.69. TransAlta Corporation has a 1-year low of $10.28 and a 1-year high of $17.88. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $406.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.36 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 9.46% and a positive return on equity of 9.52%. On average, research analysts forecast that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Company Profile

TransAlta Corporation, originally founded in 1909 as Calgary Power Company Ltd., is a publicly traded energy company specializing in the development, ownership and operation of power generation and transmission assets. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, TransAlta has grown from its early hydroelectric roots into a diversified energy provider with a multi-fuel generating fleet.

The company’s core business activities encompass power generation, asset management and energy trading services.