Emera (TSE:EMA) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Emera Incorporated (TSE:EMA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$59.75 and last traded at C$59.51, with a volume of 417727 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$58.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EMA. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Emera from C$60.00 to C$63.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Emera from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from C$51.00 to C$56.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Emera from C$57.00 to C$59.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. National Bankshares upped their target price on Emera from C$54.00 to C$55.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Emera from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Emera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$58.10.

Emera Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of C$17.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a P/E/G ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 150.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is C$55.30.

Emera Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.725 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. Emera’s payout ratio is presently 112.40%.

About Emera

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.