1,058,999 Shares in TransAlta Corporation $TAC Bought by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,058,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,635,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.34% of TransAlta as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the second quarter worth about $563,000. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the second quarter worth about $28,349,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,515,000. Periscope Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the second quarter valued at approximately $304,220,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc acquired a new position in TransAlta in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,073,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:TAC opened at $12.23 on Wednesday. TransAlta Corporation has a 12-month low of $11.38 and a 12-month high of $17.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of -67.97 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $13.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $342.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.54 million. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 8.85% and a negative net margin of 2.76%. As a group, analysts forecast that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is -111.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Scotiabank raised shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of TransAlta from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.50.

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.