Emera (TSE:EMA) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Emera Incorporated (TSE:EMA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as C$67.63 and last traded at C$67.62, with a volume of 69397 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$67.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EMA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bankshares increased their target price on shares of Emera from C$60.00 to C$62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Emera from C$65.00 to C$68.00 in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Emera from C$69.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Emera from C$66.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, CIBC downgraded shares of Emera from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from C$65.00 to C$68.00 in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$64.50.

Emera Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of C$20.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is C$65.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$62.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.23 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.725 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $2.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Emera’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Archibald Collins sold 30,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$64.95, for a total transaction of C$1,987,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,045 shares in the company, valued at C$847,272.75. This represents a 70.11% decrease in their position. 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 transaction of C$51,530.60. Following the sale, the director owned 352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$22,844.80. This represents a 69.28% decrease in their position. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,494 shares of company stock valued at $3,213,691. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Emera Company Profile

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.