CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CMS. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays upgraded shares of CMS Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CMS Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $75.36.

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CMS Energy Stock Performance

CMS stock traded down $1.99 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,353,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,234,183. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.43. CMS Energy has a 52-week low of $56.61 and a 52-week high of $76.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $21.13 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.34.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (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, equities research analysts anticipate that CMS Energy will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.5425 dividend. This is an increase from CMS Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. CMS Energy's payout ratio is presently 65.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,509,815.68. This represents a 23.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total value of $174,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 38,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,709,093.60. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,200 shares of company stock worth $789,532. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CMS Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CMS. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $561,000. Atom Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of CMS Energy in the third quarter worth about $260,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in CMS Energy by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 63,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,485,000 after purchasing an additional 13,130 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 1,122.4% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 479,203 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,845,000 after buying an additional 440,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its stake in CMS Energy by 47.1% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 9,992 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $706,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.