Emera Incorporated (EMA.TO) – What Are Investment Firms Thinking About This Stock?

Emera Incorporated (TSE:EMA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$76.33.

EMA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Emera from C$76.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Emera from C$74.00 to C$71.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Desjardins lifted their price target on shares of Emera from C$74.00 to C$76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 9th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Emera from C$78.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, TD decreased their price objective on Emera from C$79.00 to C$75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th.

Emera Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of EMA stock traded up C$0.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting C$72.98. The stock had a trading volume of 2,060,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,357,366. The firm has a market capitalization of C$22.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 150.30, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Emera has a 12-month low of C$64.62 and a 12-month high of C$77.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is C$68.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$71.20.

Emera (TSE:EMA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The company reported C$0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$1.98 billion for the quarter. Emera had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 7.08%. On average, analysts predict that Emera will post 3.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Emera Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This is a boost from Emera’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.7325. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 30th. Emera’s dividend payout ratio is 97.99%.

Emera Company Profile

Emera (TSX/NYSE: EMA) is a leading North American provider of energy services headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with investments in regulated electric and natural gas utilities, and related businesses and assets. The Emera family of companies delivers safe, reliable energy to approximately 2.7 million customers in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Our team of 7,800 employees is committed to our purpose of energizing modern life and delivering a cleaner energy future for all. Emera’s common and preferred shares are listed and trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and its common shares are listed and trade on the New York Stock Exchange.