Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Acquires 35,212 Shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 589,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,212 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.20% of CMS Energy worth $39,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of CMS Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in CMS Energy by 106.8% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in CMS Energy by 171.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in CMS Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 206.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Stock Up 1.4 %

CMS opened at $74.06 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.59. CMS Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $56.61 and a 52 week high of $74.19. The company has a market cap of $22.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.5425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. This is a boost from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CMS Energy

In other news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total value of $467,392.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,509,815.68. This trade represents a 23.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total value of $174,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,790 shares in the company, valued at $2,709,093.60. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,950 shares of company stock worth $2,669,620. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays raised CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.69.

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.