Going green will pay off for Emera

Article Excerpt

Emera’s share have rebounded strongly since falling to $42 in March with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We feel the stock will continue to move higher. That’s partly because Emera is replacing its coal-fired power plants with cleaner-burning natural gas, hydro power and solar. By 2023, it aims to cut its coal usage by 80% compared with 2005. Shifting to cleaner energy sources will increase Emera’s appeal with big institutional investors as they target companies with high ESG (environmental, social and governance) scores. EMERA INC. $56 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 246.4 million; Market cap: $13.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.4; Dividend yield: 4.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.emera.com) is best known as the owner of Nova Scotia Power, that province’s main electricity supplier. However, Emera has steadily expanded its operations outside of Canada in the past few years. Its biggest move was the July 2016 acquisition of Teco Energy for $13.9 billion. That firm supplies electricity…