CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $75.09.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CMS. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on CMS Energy from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com downgraded CMS Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th.

Insider Transactions at CMS Energy

In other CMS Energy news, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total value of $174,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,709,093.60. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.77, for a total transaction of $147,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 71,931 shares in the company, valued at $5,306,349.87. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $789,532. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in CMS Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $333,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in CMS Energy by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,133 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,342,000 after buying an additional 5,662 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in CMS Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 76,560 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,103,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 26,808 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,787,000 after acquiring an additional 8,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 170,698 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,377,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CMS Energy Price Performance

Shares of CMS Energy stock opened at $72.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.34 and a 200 day moving average of $69.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. CMS Energy has a 12 month low of $58.50 and a 12 month high of $76.45.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. On average, research analysts expect that CMS Energy will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. CMS Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.36%.

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.

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