AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd Sells 430,600 Shares of TransAlta Corporation $TAC

AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd cut its holdings in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 94.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 430,600 shares during the period. AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd’s holdings in TransAlta were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in TransAlta by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth about $129,000. Finally, Ritter Alpha LP acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth about $131,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on TAC. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank raised shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. National Bank Financial raised shares of TransAlta from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.25.

TransAlta Stock Up 0.5%

TransAlta stock opened at $13.58 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.14 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61. TransAlta Corporation has a 1-year low of $10.28 and a 1-year high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $406.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.36 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 9.46% and a positive return on equity of 9.52%. On average, analysts predict that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

About TransAlta

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.