StockNews.com Downgrades CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) to Sell

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on CMS Energy in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CMS Energy from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on CMS Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CMS Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.29.

CMS Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CMS traded down $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.52. 1,957,792 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,279,453. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. CMS Energy has a 52-week low of $55.10 and a 52-week high of $72.40. The business's fifty day moving average is $69.73 and its 200-day moving average is $65.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.41.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. CMS Energy had a net margin of 14.01% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The company's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that CMS Energy will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.515 dividend. This is a boost from CMS Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. CMS Energy's payout ratio is currently 58.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.17, for a total value of $136,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 64,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,439.07. This represents a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CMS. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 101.7% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,891,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $410,223,000 after purchasing an additional 3,473,977 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 310.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,125,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $79,519,000 after purchasing an additional 851,364 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 105.9% during the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,555,898 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $92,623,000 after buying an additional 800,344 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in CMS Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,082,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in CMS Energy by 404.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 892,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,053,000 after acquiring an additional 715,891 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.57% of the company's stock.

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.