TransAlta Corporation $TAC Shares Sold by TD Asset Management Inc

TD Asset Management Inc decreased its holdings in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 55.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,266,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,574,842 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc owned about 0.43% of TransAlta worth $13,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TAC. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in TransAlta by 48,666.7% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 4,380 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in TransAlta in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $134,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in TransAlta in the 1st quarter worth approximately $119,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in TransAlta in the 1st quarter worth approximately $146,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in TransAlta by 64.9% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 17,525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 6,900 shares in the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TransAlta Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE TAC opened at $16.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98. TransAlta Corporation has a 52 week low of $7.82 and a 52 week high of $17.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of -39.42 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.32.

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

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This is a boost from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -45.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TAC. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target (up previously from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Monday, October 6th. National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TransAlta has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.88.

About TransAlta

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.