Covalis Capital LLP Invests $4.01 Million in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Covalis Capital LLP bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 283,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,005,000. Covalis Capital LLP owned about 0.10% of TransAlta at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TAC. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 73,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 5,168 shares during the last quarter. EAM Global Investors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter valued at $9,022,000. EAM Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at $1,398,000. Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new position in TransAlta in the 4th quarter worth about $4,352,000. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its holdings in TransAlta by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 74,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 8,250 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TransAlta Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of TAC opened at $8.71 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25 and a beta of 0.72. TransAlta Co. has a 12-month low of $6.36 and a 12-month high of $14.64.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $484.60 million during the quarter. TransAlta had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 18.47%. As a group, research analysts predict that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a $0.0458 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. This is a boost from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. TransAlta’s payout ratio is 43.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TAC. Scotiabank downgraded shares of TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered TransAlta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on TransAlta in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Cibc World Mkts upgraded TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, CIBC upgraded TransAlta from a “neutral” rating to an “outperformer” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $23.00 to $19.50 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.50.

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.