Higher rates will help offset costs

Article Excerpt

EMERA INC. $52 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 292.9 million; Market cap: $15.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 5.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.emera.com) owns 100% of Nova Scotia Power, that province’s main electricity supplier. It also holds 100% of Teco Energy, which supplies electricity and natural gas to 1.3 million customers in Tampa Bay, Florida. Emera’s other interests include power plants and natural gas pipelines in the U.S. and the Caribbean. Teco Energy wants to increase power rates to help offset the costs to repair the damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. That would give it an additional $464 million U.S. It’s likely regulators will approve most of this request. The additional revenue will help Emera with its plan to increase its dividend rate by between 1% and 2% annually through 2027. The current annual rate of $2.90 a share yields 5.6%. Emera is a buy. buy…