CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $72.48 and last traded at $72.05, with a volume of 170736 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CMS shares. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.69.

CMS Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $21.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.79.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 12.02%. As a group, research analysts forecast that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $0.5425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. This is an increase from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. CMS Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.36%.

Insider Activity at CMS Energy

In related news, Director John G. Russell sold 28,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.85, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 16.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total value of $134,440.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,248,102.34. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,950 shares of company stock valued at $2,669,620. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CMS Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in CMS Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 171.9% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 106.8% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in CMS Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 206.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in 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.