CenterBook Partners LP Lowers Stock Position in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

CenterBook Partners LP trimmed its holdings in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 90.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 75,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 700,082 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in TransAlta were worth $1,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sage Rhino Capital LLC bought a new position in TransAlta during the third quarter valued at approximately $139,000. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $127,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $159,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the second quarter valued at $173,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Price Performance

NYSE TAC opened at $13.52 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.22. TransAlta Corporation has a 12-month low of $7.82 and a 12-month high of $17.88.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 1st will be issued a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. TransAlta’s payout ratio is presently -39.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TAC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.00.

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.