Emera (TSE:EMA) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares of Emera Incorporated reached a new 52-week high at C$67.54, with analysts offering a range of price targets and ratings from C$68.00 to C$74.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.725 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.3% and a payout ratio of 98.05%.
• Insider activity shows significant share sales by directors, with over 49,000 shares sold recently, indicating a considerable decrease in their ownership stakes.

Shares of Emera Incorporated (TSE:EMA - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as C$67.54 and last traded at C$67.48, with a volume of 57526 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$67.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Emera from C$67.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Emera from C$65.00 to C$68.00 in a report on Monday, August 11th. Cibc World Mkts cut Emera from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. TD Securities increased their price objective on Emera from C$69.00 to C$74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Emera from C$69.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$64.33.

Emera Trading Down 0.3%

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 business has a 50 day moving average of C$65.18 and a 200 day moving average of C$62.47. The firm has a market capitalization of C$19.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.55.

Emera Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.725 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $2.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Emera's payout ratio is currently 98.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Emera news, Director Judy Ann Steele sold 18,100 shares of Emera stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$64.90, for a total transaction of C$1,174,690.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 352 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$22,844.80. The trade was a 98.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Archibald Collins sold 30,600 shares of Emera stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$64.95, for a total value of C$1,987,470.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$847,272.75. This represents a 70.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,494 shares of company stock worth $3,213,691. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.

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