CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $75.36.

CMS has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded CMS Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target 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, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CMS traded up $1.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $74.18. The stock had a trading volume of 2,717,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,229,920. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.23. CMS Energy has a fifty-two week low of $56.61 and a fifty-two week high of $75.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Remove Ads

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.5425 dividend. This is a positive change from CMS Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. CMS Energy's payout ratio is 65.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total value of $174,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,709,093.60. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total transaction of $467,392.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,509,815.68. This trade represents a 23.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,200 shares of company stock worth $789,532 over the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in CMS Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 106.8% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of CMS Energy by 171.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 2,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 720 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is currently 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.