Emera (TSE:EMA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Emera Incorporated (TSE:EMA) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as C$69.89 and last traded at C$69.88, with a volume of 171069 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$68.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Emera from C$68.00 to C$72.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Emera from C$70.00 to C$73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Desjardins boosted their target price on shares of Emera from C$64.00 to C$68.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price target on Emera from C$71.00 to C$72.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, National Bank Financial lifted their price objective on Emera from C$63.00 to C$67.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$71.00.

Emera Stock Up 2.2%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is C$67.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$66.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 150.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of C$21.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.59.

Emera (TSE:EMA) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported C$0.88 earnings per share for the quarter. Emera had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 6.06%. The business had revenue of C$2.11 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Emera Incorporated will post 3.1991627 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Emera

In related news, Director Scott Carlyle Balfour sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$67.75, for a total value of C$677,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$523,910.75. This represents a 56.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Daniel Muldoon sold 8,000 shares of Emera stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$67.00, for a total transaction of C$536,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,378 shares in the company, valued at C$159,326. This represents a 77.09% decrease in their position. Insiders have sold a total of 38,000 shares of company stock worth $2,578,500 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Emera

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.