Emera (TSE:EMA) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Emera Incorporated (TSE:EMA) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from C$60.00 to C$62.00. Scotiabank currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Emera 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.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. CIBC upgraded Emera from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from C$54.00 to C$58.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Emera from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Emera from C$54.00 to C$58.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America upgraded Emera from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from C$55.00 to C$57.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Emera from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from C$51.00 to C$56.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$57.30.

Emera Stock Up 1.1 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$54.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$52.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 150.23, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of C$16.58 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a PEG ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.35.

Emera Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.725 dividend. This represents a $2.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Emera’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.40%.

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.