Cibc World Market Inc. Sells 108,899 Shares of TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Cibc World Market Inc. trimmed its position in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,574,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 108,899 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in TransAlta were worth $19,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of TransAlta by 37.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth $129,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the third quarter worth $176,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the third quarter worth $189,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TransAlta Trading Down 2.1%

TAC opened at $12.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.49 and a beta of 0.69. TransAlta Corporation has a 12 month low of $10.19 and a 12 month high of $17.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.15. 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 (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $406.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $436.36 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 9.46% and a positive return on equity of 9.52%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on TAC shares. National Bank Financial raised shares of TransAlta from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of TransAlta from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.33.

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.