Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $18.71 Million Holdings in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 17.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,428,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 217,200 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in TransAlta were worth $18,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 493.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,317 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after acquiring an additional 83,414 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in TransAlta by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,818,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,999,000 after purchasing an additional 463,266 shares during the last quarter. Capital Innovations LLC bought a new position in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,259,000. Sculptor Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,958,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,123,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,694,000 after purchasing an additional 174,449 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TAC. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised TransAlta from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

TransAlta Price Performance

TransAlta stock opened at $12.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.82 and a beta of 0.69. TransAlta Corporation has a 52-week low of $11.38 and a 52-week high of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.18.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 9.46% and a positive return on equity of 9.52%. The company had revenue of $406.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.36 million. On average, equities analysts predict that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. TransAlta’s payout ratio is -37.04%.

TransAlta 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.