Topic: Dividend Stocks

EMERA INC. $47

EMERA INC. $47 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 148.2 million; Market cap: $7.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.emera.com) owns 100% of Nova Scotia Power, that province’s main electricity supplier. It also owns or invests in power plants and natural gas pipelines in the U.S. and the Caribbean.

Emera recently agreed to purchase TECO Energy (New York symbol TE). It supplies electricity and natural gas to 1.05 million customers in Tampa Bay, Florida. A separate subsidiary distributes gas to 510,000 clients in New Mexico.

The company will pay $10.4 billion U.S., including TECO’s debt. Emera will probably sell new shares to help pay off the short-term loans it needs to finance the deal.

TECO shareholders have already approved the takeover. Emera still needs federal and state regulators to approve, but it expects to complete the purchase in mid-2016.

The stock has gained 14% in the past year. It now trades at 19.4 times the $2.42 a share Emera will likely earn in 2016.

Buying TECO should increase Emera’s earnings per share 10% by 2019. That will also help the company meet the goal of raising its dividend by 8% each year through 2019. The current annual rate of $1.90 yields 4.0%.

Emera is our top Income buy for 2016.

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