Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Acquires New Stake in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 250,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,453,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 45,478 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in TransAlta by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 152,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,660,000 after buying an additional 5,214 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in TransAlta by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,075,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,601,000 after acquiring an additional 170,829 shares in the last quarter. Westerly Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,281,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in TransAlta by 418.8% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 295,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,186,000 after acquiring an additional 238,422 shares during the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TransAlta Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of TAC stock opened at $12.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $13.25 and its 200-day moving average is $13.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.97 and a beta of 0.70. TransAlta Corporation has a 52-week low of $11.38 and a 52-week high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $342.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $379.54 million. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 8.85% and a negative net margin of 2.76%. Sell-side analysts predict that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -111.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TAC. Weiss Ratings cut shares of TransAlta from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, TransAlta has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.50.

TransAlta Company 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.