Diameter Capital Partners LP Has $17.68 Million Stock Position in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Diameter Capital Partners LP lessened its holdings in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 50.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,250,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,250,000 shares during the period. TransAlta accounts for 2.6% of Diameter Capital Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Diameter Capital Partners LP’s holdings in TransAlta were worth $17,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 281.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 143,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after buying an additional 105,562 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in TransAlta by 190.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 147,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,550,000 after buying an additional 96,856 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth $7,139,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at $145,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TransAlta Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of TAC stock opened at $9.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.15 and a 200-day moving average of $10.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94. The stock has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04 and a beta of 0.71. TransAlta Co. has a 1-year low of $6.78 and a 1-year high of $14.64.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $484.60 million for the quarter. TransAlta had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 6.38%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.0458 per share. This is a positive change from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lowered TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of TransAlta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. CIBC raised TransAlta from a “neutral” rating to an “outperformer” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $19.50 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on TransAlta in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.50.

About TransAlta

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.