Allianz Asset Management GmbH Has $4.25 Million Position in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Allianz Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 394,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 27,535 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in TransAlta were worth $4,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 6.7% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 107,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 6,801 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in TransAlta during the second quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its position in TransAlta by 6.0% during the second quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 23,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in TransAlta by 27.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 208,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 45,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP raised its position in TransAlta by 138.0% during the first quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 1,680,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,681,000 after acquiring an additional 974,253 shares in the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective (up previously from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Monday, October 6th. National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.88.

TransAlta Trading Up 3.0%

NYSE:TAC opened at $17.23 on Friday. TransAlta Corporation has a 12 month low of $7.82 and a 12 month high of $17.69. The firm has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.02 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98. The company’s 50 day moving average is $13.82 and its 200-day moving average is $11.53.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.06. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 6.79% and a negative return on equity of 2.06%. The company had revenue of $451.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $473.94 million. Equities analysts anticipate that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. TransAlta’s payout ratio is -45.24%.

TransAlta 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.