TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Stock Price Up 7.2% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) shares shot up 7.2% on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $8.09 and last traded at $8.08. 1,005,064 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 35% from the average session volume of 744,932 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.54.

The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.08. TransAlta had a return on equity of 45.67% and a net margin of 18.41%. The firm had revenue of $425.37 million during the quarter. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.044 per share. This is a boost from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in TransAlta by 156.3% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in TransAlta by 1,381.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 3,951 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the second quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in TransAlta during the 1st quarter valued at about $66,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TransAlta Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.95. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.88.

TransAlta Company Profile

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.