TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Shares Down 14.5% – Time to Sell?

Shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) fell 14.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $11.31 and last traded at $11.52. 679,407 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 1,741,278 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cibc World Mkts cut TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Desjardins restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. CIBC lowered TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered TransAlta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 4th. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

TransAlta Trading Down 0.9 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.02 and a 200-day moving average of $10.57. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94.

TransAlta Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a $0.0423 dividend. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Yaupon Capital Management LP grew its stake in TransAlta by 69.9% during the 3rd quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 2,685,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,840,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,191 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its stake in TransAlta by 20.0% during the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 5,622,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,254,000 after buying an additional 935,803 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at $7,139,000. Potrero Capital Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 3rd quarter worth $5,088,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $47,613,000 after acquiring an additional 408,184 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Company 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.