Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 72,200 Shares of TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its holdings in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 63.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 72,200 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in TransAlta were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at about $129,000. Sage Rhino Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 3rd quarter valued at about $139,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at about $159,000. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $176,000. Institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TAC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. National Bank Financial raised shares of TransAlta from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransAlta presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.33.

TransAlta Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of TransAlta stock opened at $12.79 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.54. TransAlta Corporation has a 52-week low of $8.34 and a 52-week high of $17.88. The company has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.20 and a beta of 0.66.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.09). TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 10.00% and a negative net margin of 7.51%.The firm had revenue of $436.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $493.39 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. TransAlta’s payout ratio is presently -40.43%.

TransAlta Company Profile

TransAlta Corporation, originally founded in 1909 as Calgary Power Company Ltd., is a publicly traded energy company specializing in the development, ownership and operation of power generation and transmission assets. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, TransAlta has grown from its early hydroelectric roots into a diversified energy provider with a multi-fuel generating fleet.

The company’s core business activities encompass power generation, asset management and energy trading services.