TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.07 EPS

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.07), Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $441.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $558.84 million. TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 2.06% and a negative net margin of 6.79%.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of TAC stock traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $15.53. 4,133,497 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,647,512. TransAlta has a 52-week low of $7.82 and a 52-week high of $17.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.96 and a beta of 0.80.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -37.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. CIBC reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research lowered TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. National Bankshares restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (up previously from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, TransAlta has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.88.

Institutional Trading of TransAlta

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TAC. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 27.8% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 45,478 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in TransAlta by 418.8% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 295,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,186,000 after acquiring an additional 238,422 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 18.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,075,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,601,000 after purchasing an additional 170,829 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its position in TransAlta by 32.9% during the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 15,948,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $172,084,000 after purchasing an additional 3,948,451 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the second quarter worth about $159,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About TransAlta

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.