BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $12.55 Million Holdings in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its stake in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 33.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 993,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 508,834 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in TransAlta were worth $12,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 32.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 15,948,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $172,084,000 after acquiring an additional 3,948,451 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,298,000. Aventail Capital Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,633,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,395,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of TransAlta by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,425,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $142,373,000 after buying an additional 1,369,830 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TransAlta Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE TAC opened at $12.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of -23.49 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.70. TransAlta Corporation has a 1 year low of $10.19 and a 1 year high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $406.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.36 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 9.46% and a positive return on equity of 9.52%. On average, research analysts forecast that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.26 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of TransAlta from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. National Bank Financial raised shares of TransAlta from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.33.

TransAlta 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.