Emera (TSE:EMA) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Emera Incorporated (TSE:EMA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Raymond James Financial raised their price target on the stock from C$70.00 to C$73.00. Raymond James Financial currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Emera traded as high as C$69.62 and last traded at C$69.20, with a volume of 1373286 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$69.05.

EMA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Emera from C$65.00 to C$68.00 in a report on Monday, August 11th. Cibc World Mkts cut Emera from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. TD Securities boosted their target price on Emera from C$69.00 to C$74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. National Bankshares boosted their price target on Emera from C$60.00 to C$62.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Emera from C$70.00 to C$72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$65.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Emera

In other Emera news, Director Archibald Collins sold 30,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$64.95, for a total value of C$1,987,470.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$847,272.75. This trade represents a 70.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Judy Ann Steele sold 794 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$64.90, for a total value of C$51,530.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$22,844.80. The trade was a 69.28% decrease in their position. Insiders sold 49,494 shares of company stock worth $3,213,691 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Emera Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of C$20.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$66.19 and a 200-day moving average price of C$63.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 150.23.

Emera Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $2.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Emera’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.05%.

About Emera

Emera is a geographically diverse energy and services company investing in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution as well as gas transmission and utility energy services. Emera has operations throughout North America and the Caribbean countries.