TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.04

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd,Zacks Dividends reports. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.044 per share by the utilities provider on Wednesday, January 1st. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th.

TransAlta has increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.6% annually over the last three years. TransAlta has a dividend payout ratio of 60.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect TransAlta to earn $0.42 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.17 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.5%.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TAC opened at $11.09 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.97 and a beta of 0.92. TransAlta has a 52 week low of $5.94 and a 52 week high of $11.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94. The company’s fifty day moving average is $10.36 and its 200 day moving average is $8.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Desjardins reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

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.