Hi Bruce,
Both EMA and FTS are strong utility companies. Although we do prefer Fortis, I would not say that its prospects are significantly better. Our Foundational picks are those we believe are buy at any time stock, have a long history of strong performance and are largely considered 'blue chip' stocks. Fortis has a much longer, and richer history than Emera.
This doesn't mean Emera is a bad stock. It has performed quite well over the years although growth is beginning to slow. It averaged 12% earnings growth over the past five years, whereas expectations are now ~6% over the next five. This is inline with Fortis. Dividend growth expectations is for mid-single digit growth, which once again is similar to Fortis' target of 6% annual dividend growth through 2022.
Also worth noting - both Fortis and Emera are trading at similar valuations.
All this considered, Emera's future prospects are relatively inline with that of Fortis. We just prefer Fortis for its longevity, greater diversification and dividend growth history. We also consider it to be a 'safer' stock with less risk thanks to some of these factors.
Mat