Key Insights

Significantly high institutional ownership implies TransAlta's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions 51% of the business is held by the top 18 shareholders Recent purchases by insiders

Our free stock report includes 4 warning signs investors should be aware of before investing in TransAlta. Read for free now.

A look at the shareholders of TransAlta Corporation (TSE:TA) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 67% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And last week, institutional investors ended up benefitting the most after the company hit CA$3.6b in market cap. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 45%.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of TransAlta, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for TransAlta TSX:TA Ownership Breakdown April 16th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About TransAlta?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

We can see that TransAlta does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at TransAlta's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.TSX:TA Earnings and Revenue Growth April 16th 2025

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Our data indicates that hedge funds own 5.1% of TransAlta. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Our data shows that Brookfield Corporation is the largest shareholder with 9.0% of shares outstanding. With 7.8% and 5.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, RBC Global Asset Management Inc. and Millennium Management LLC are the second and third largest shareholders.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 51% of the ownership is controlled by the top 18 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

Story Continues

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of TransAlta

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of TransAlta Corporation. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own CA$16m worth of shares. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can  click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 27% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over TransAlta. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted  4 warning signs for TransAlta  (of which 2 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about.

But ultimately  it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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