CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $75.36.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upgraded CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th.

CMS Energy Price Performance

CMS opened at $75.20 on Tuesday. CMS Energy has a 12-month low of $56.61 and a 12-month high of $75.55. The company has a market cap of $22.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.31.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts predict that CMS Energy will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.5425 dividend. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. This is a boost from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CMS Energy

In related news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total transaction of $467,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 21,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,509,815.68. The trade was a 23.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total transaction of $174,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,790 shares in the company, valued at $2,709,093.60. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,200 shares of company stock worth $789,532 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CMS Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,256,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $950,227,000 after buying an additional 3,486,074 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CMS Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $171,798,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in CMS Energy by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,741,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $649,264,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,269 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in CMS Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $89,173,000. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in shares of CMS Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,904,000. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.