Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes $1.27 Million Position in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 91,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,267,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in TransAlta in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the period. Ritter Alpha LP acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at about $131,000. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC increased its position in TransAlta by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 11,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TransAlta Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:TAC opened at $12.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -68.97 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64. TransAlta Corporation has a 12-month low of $11.38 and a 12-month high of $17.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.92 and its 200 day moving average is $13.06.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 8.85% and a negative net margin of 2.76%.The business had revenue of $342.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.54 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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