Scotiabank Upgrades TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) to “Strong-Buy”

Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on TAC. StockNews.com lowered shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Desjardins reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

TransAlta Trading Up 5.4 %

NYSE TAC opened at $13.48 on Thursday. TransAlta has a one year low of $5.94 and a one year high of $13.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $10.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.43 and a beta of 0.91.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.044 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.95%.

Institutional Trading of TransAlta

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TAC. Yaupon Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 69.9% in the third quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 2,685,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,840,000 after buying an additional 1,105,191 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 20.0% in the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 5,622,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,254,000 after buying an additional 935,803 shares during the last quarter. Potrero Capital Research LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the third quarter worth $5,088,000. Clayton Partners LLC boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 2,293.5% in the second 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. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 9.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,593,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,613,000 after purchasing an additional 408,184 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

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.