TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) Shares Purchased by Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its position in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 65.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 82,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,850 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.’s holdings in TransAlta were worth $1,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TAC. Tobam purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth about $145,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in TransAlta in the 4th quarter worth about $147,000. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at about $150,000. Finally, Sage Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 4th quarter valued at about $156,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TransAlta Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of TAC stock opened at $9.16 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94. TransAlta Co. has a fifty-two week low of $6.78 and a fifty-two week high of $14.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $8.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.79. The stock has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33 and a beta of 0.71.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $526.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $509.31 million. TransAlta had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 18.47%. On average, analysts anticipate that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. CIBC raised shares of TransAlta from a “neutral” rating to an “outperformer” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $19.50 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of TransAlta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cibc World Mkts upgraded TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on TransAlta in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on TransAlta from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.75.

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.