CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Earns “Neutral” Rating from Guggenheim

Guggenheim reiterated their neutral rating on shares of CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a $69.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on CMS. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.15.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

CMS stock opened at $68.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.80. CMS Energy has a 12 month low of $55.10 and a 12 month high of $72.40. The company has a market capitalization of $20.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a net margin of 14.01% and a return on equity of 12.81%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CMS Energy will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 936 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.50, for a total transaction of $64,116.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,672,564.50. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John G. Russell sold 28,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.85, for a total transaction of $1,893,187.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 144,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,285.15. The trade was a 16.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,686 shares of company stock worth $2,228,084. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMS. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $842,000 after buying an additional 1,147 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in CMS Energy during the fourth quarter worth $333,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 6.2% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,631 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 992.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 251,525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,075,000 after purchasing an additional 228,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,610,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $537,503,000 after purchasing an additional 719,093 shares during the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CMS Energy Company Profile

CMS Energy Corporation operates as an energy company primarily in Michigan. The company operates through three segments: Electric Utility; Gas Utility; and Enterprises. The Electric Utility segment is involved in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. This segment generates electricity through coal, wind, gas, renewable energy, oil, and nuclear sources.