Yaupon Capital Management LP Acquires 1,105,191 Shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Yaupon Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 69.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,685,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,105,191 shares during the period. TransAlta comprises approximately 1.5% of Yaupon Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Yaupon Capital Management LP owned about 0.90% of TransAlta worth $27,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TAC. Rubric Capital Management LP raised its stake in TransAlta by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 5,622,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,254,000 after acquiring an additional 935,803 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of TransAlta by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,593,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,613,000 after purchasing an additional 408,184 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of TransAlta by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,618,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,267,000 after purchasing an additional 299,594 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,912,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,557,000 after buying an additional 101,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,286,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,343,000 after buying an additional 352,860 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TransAlta Price Performance

NYSE:TAC opened at $13.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.43 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.85. TransAlta Co. has a 1 year low of $5.94 and a 1 year high of $13.53.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.044 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. TransAlta’s payout ratio is 48.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on TAC shares. StockNews.com downgraded TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Desjardins reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday.

TransAlta Profile

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.