StockNews.com Lowers TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) to Buy

StockNews.com lowered shares of TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday.

TransAlta Stock Performance

TAC opened at $9.30 on Monday. TransAlta has a 12-month low of $5.94 and a 12-month high of $9.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $8.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.30.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.08. TransAlta had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 47.71%. The company had revenue of $425.37 million during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.044 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This is a positive change from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TAC. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 161.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 31,103 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 929,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,582,000 after purchasing an additional 169,219 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $252,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, Clayton Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 2,293.5% during the 2nd quarter. Clayton Partners LLC now owns 458,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,244,000 after purchasing an additional 439,013 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TransAlta Company Profile

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.