CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's Why

CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $75.43 and last traded at $74.92, with a volume of 217121 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of CMS Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $68.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. Scotiabank lifted their price target on CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered CMS Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.36.

Remove Ads

CMS Energy Stock Down 3.5 %

The business's 50 day moving average is $71.10 and its 200-day moving average is $69.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.35.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. As a group, analysts predict that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.5425 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. This is a boost from CMS Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. CMS Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of CMS Energy 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 directly owns 21,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,509,815.68. The trade was a 23.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.77, for a total transaction of $147,540.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 71,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,306,349.87. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,200 shares of company stock worth $789,532. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMS. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 106.8% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in CMS Energy by 2,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 720 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its position in CMS Energy by 39.2% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 813 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in CMS Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $61,000. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.