Emera Incorporated (TSE:EMA) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Emera “Moderate Buy”: Six of ten covering brokerages recommend buying the stock, while four advise holding it. The average 12-month price target is C$75.77.
• Emera announced a quarterly dividend of C$0.7325 per share, equivalent to an annualized C$2.93 and a 3.9% yield. The dividend payout ratio is 89.14%.
• Emera reported quarterly earnings of C$1.37 per share on C$2.81 billion in revenue, while shares recently opened at C$74.91, down 1.2%.

Emera Incorporated (TSE:EMA - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$75.77.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Emera from C$76.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on Emera from C$73.00 to C$74.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. National Bank Financial lifted their price target on shares of Emera from C$69.00 to C$75.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Emera from C$73.00 to C$79.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Emera from C$74.50 to C$75.25 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th.

Insider Activity at Emera

In other news, insider Richard Janega sold 16,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$74.25, for a total transaction of C$1,225,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 19,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$1,458,418.50. The trade was a 45.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Emera Trading Down 1.2%

EMA stock opened at C$74.91 on Friday. Emera has a 52-week low of C$63.17 and a 52-week high of C$77.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 168.83. The firm has a market cap of C$22.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.91, a PEG ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.57. The company's 50-day simple moving average is C$74.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$72.00.

Emera (TSE:EMA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported C$1.37 earnings per share for the quarter. Emera had a return on equity of 7.90% and a net margin of 13.20%.The company had revenue of C$2.81 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Emera will post 3.1991627 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Emera Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.7325 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $2.93 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Emera's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.14%.

About Emera

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.

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