TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC – Get Rating) (TSE:TA) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 922,900 shares, a decline of 48.7% from the April 30th total of 1,800,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 339,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Addenda Capital Inc. bought a new position in TransAlta in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 50.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 1,416.1% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 4,928 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 153.2% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 3,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:TAC traded down $0.02 on Friday, reaching $9.41. The stock had a trading volume of 68,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 321,514. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $8.95 and a 200 day moving average of $9.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.55 and a beta of 1.06. TransAlta has a 12-month low of $7.55 and a 12-month high of $11.85.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC – Get Rating) (TSE:TA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported ($0.45) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.96). The firm had revenue of $629.08 million during the quarter. TransAlta had a net margin of 3.90% and a return on equity of 9.56%. On average, research analysts predict that TransAlta will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be paid a $0.041 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on TransAlta in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. National Bank Financial raised shares of TransAlta from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group raised shares of TransAlta from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $16.10.

TransAlta Company Profile

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TransAlta Corp. engages in the generation and distribution of electricity through wind, hydro, gas and coal power plants. It operates through the following business segments: Hydro, Wind and Solar, Gas, Energy Transition, Energy Marketing, and Corporate. The Hydro, Wind and Solar, Gas and Energy Transition business segments are responsible for operating and maintaining the company’s electrical generation facilities in Canada, Australia, and the US.