Analysts Set CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Target Price at $70.29

CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.21.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded CMS Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded CMS Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $76.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CMS opened at $70.42 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.62. CMS Energy has a 52-week low of $55.10 and a 52-week high of $72.40. The company has a market cap of $21.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.23.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 14.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that CMS Energy will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This is a positive change from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 936 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.50, for a total value of $64,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,672,564.50. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.17, for a total transaction of $136,340.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 64,771 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,439.07. This trade represents a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CMS Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in CMS Energy by 17.6% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,397,000 after buying an additional 2,965 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of CMS Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $589,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $248,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in CMS Energy by 34.6% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 34,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,427,000 after purchasing an additional 8,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake in CMS Energy by 18.0% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 18,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About CMS Energy

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.