Timelo Investment Management Inc. Has $4.73 Million Stake in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Timelo Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 52.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 333,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 375,000 shares during the quarter. TransAlta comprises approximately 3.3% of Timelo Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Timelo Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in TransAlta were worth $4,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,229,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $144,680,000 after acquiring an additional 150,554 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,290,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $131,222,000 after buying an additional 716,139 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 79.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,255,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $116,764,000 after buying an additional 3,662,900 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 638.9% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 7,995,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,936,000 after acquiring an additional 6,913,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 512.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,870,226 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,880,000 after acquiring an additional 4,074,395 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TAC opened at $8.71 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.05. TransAlta Co. has a twelve month low of $6.36 and a twelve month high of $14.64.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $484.60 million for the quarter. TransAlta had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 18.47%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on TAC shares. StockNews.com lowered TransAlta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. CIBC raised shares of TransAlta from a “neutral” rating to an “outperformer” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $23.00 to $19.50 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on TransAlta in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Scotiabank cut TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.