Emera (TSE:EMA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Emera Incorporated (TSE:EMA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as C$56.35 and last traded at C$56.22, with a volume of 113745 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$55.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EMA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Emera from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from C$55.00 to C$57.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. National Bankshares lifted their target price on shares of Emera from C$54.00 to C$55.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Emera from C$51.00 to C$56.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Emera from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from C$51.00 to C$56.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, CIBC raised Emera from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from C$54.00 to C$58.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Emera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$57.10.

Emera Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is C$54.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$52.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 155.62. The firm has a market cap of C$16.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.35.

Emera Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.725 dividend. This represents a $2.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Emera’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.84%.

Emera Company Profile

Emera Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity to various customers. The company operates through Florida Electric Utility, Canadian Electric Utilities, Other Electric Utilities, Gas Utilities and Infrastructure, and Other segments.