TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Desjardins reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday.

TransAlta Trading Down 5.8 %

NYSE:TAC opened at $10.43 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.25. The company has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 6.90 and a beta of 0.92. TransAlta has a 12 month low of $5.94 and a 12 month high of $11.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.044 per share. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TAC. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the first quarter worth $66,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 26.1% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 38,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 8,058 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the first quarter worth $3,779,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 71.9% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 643,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,131,000 after buying an additional 269,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the first quarter worth $2,246,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.