Emera Incorporated (TSE:EMA) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Emera Incorporated (TSE:EMA) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$75.77.

EMA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Desjardins upped their price target on Emera from C$70.00 to C$74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Emera from C$74.50 to C$75.25 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Emera from C$73.00 to C$79.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays set a C$72.00 target price on shares of Emera and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Emera from C$78.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st.

Emera Stock Performance

TSE:EMA opened at C$70.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 168.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 1.07. Emera has a 52-week low of C$63.17 and a 52-week high of C$77.99. The firm has a market cap of C$21.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is C$74.49 and its 200 day moving average is C$72.19.

Emera (TSE:EMA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported C$0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Emera had a return on equity of 7.90% and a net margin of 13.20%.The business had revenue of C$2.01 billion for the quarter. Research analysts predict that Emera will post 3.1991627 EPS for the current year.

Emera Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.7325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $2.93 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Emera’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Emera

In related news, insider Richard Janega sold 16,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$74.25, for a total value of C$1,225,125.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 19,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$1,458,418.50. This trade represents a 45.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.