TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) Shares Bought by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 281.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 143,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 105,562 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in TransAlta were worth $1,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 122.7% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 143,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 79,000 shares during the last quarter. Clayton Partners LLC grew 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 valued at $3,244,000 after purchasing an additional 439,013 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its position in TransAlta by 20.0% during the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 5,622,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,254,000 after purchasing an additional 935,803 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in TransAlta by 9.8% during 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. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 3rd quarter valued at $998,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on TAC shares. Scotiabank raised TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Desjardins reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

TransAlta Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE TAC opened at $14.24 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $11.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94. TransAlta Co. has a 12-month low of $5.94 and a 12-month high of $14.64. The company has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.49 and a beta of 0.91.

TransAlta Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.0423 per share. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.95%.

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.