Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Buys New Position in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 50,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $518,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning boosted its position in TransAlta by 6.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 53,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,492 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in TransAlta by 1,381.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 3,951 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in TransAlta during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in TransAlta by 23.6% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 26,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 5,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in TransAlta during the third quarter worth approximately $61,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TransAlta Stock Up 5.4 %

Shares of NYSE TAC opened at $13.48 on Friday. The company 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 moving average of $10.62 and a two-hundred day 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.044 per share. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. TransAlta’s payout ratio is 48.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on TAC shares. StockNews.com downgraded TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Desjardins restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

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.