TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Cibc World Mkts

Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

TAC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. CIBC cut TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Desjardins reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of TransAlta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TransAlta has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

TransAlta Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:TAC opened at $13.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.81 and a beta of 0.84. TransAlta has a fifty-two week low of $5.94 and a fifty-two week high of $14.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.01.

TransAlta Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.0423 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. TransAlta’s payout ratio is 45.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TAC. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 5,622,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,254,000 after purchasing an additional 935,803 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of TransAlta by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,593,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,613,000 after purchasing an additional 408,184 shares during the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of TransAlta by 69.9% during the 3rd quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 2,685,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,840,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,191 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 37.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,286,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,343,000 after buying an additional 352,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in TransAlta by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 929,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,582,000 after buying an additional 169,219 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

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.