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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

TransAlta Price Performance

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

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.08. TransAlta had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 47.71%. The firm had revenue of $425.37 million during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that TransAlta Co. will post 0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.044 dividend. This is an increase from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is 10.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in TransAlta by 156.3% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 1,381.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 3,951 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 1st quarter worth $66,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.