TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Reaches New 12-Month High at $9.45

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $9.45 and last traded at $9.44, with a volume of 553247 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday.

TransAlta Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.27 and its 200 day moving average is $7.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.91.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that TransAlta Co. will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,498,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $87,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116,907 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in TransAlta by 76.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,387,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899,671 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its stake in TransAlta by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 5,145,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,760,000 after acquiring an additional 740,786 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in TransAlta by 93.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,525,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,688,000 after acquiring an additional 738,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in TransAlta in the first quarter worth approximately $3,779,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About TransAlta

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.