CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $73.45 and last traded at $73.65, with a volume of 54032 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $73.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays raised CMS Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of CMS Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.42.

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CMS Energy Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $68.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

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, topping 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, equities analysts forecast that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. This is a positive change from CMS Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. CMS Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,306,349.87. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 21,643 shares in the company, valued at $1,509,815.68. This represents a 23.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,950 shares of company stock worth $2,817,160 in the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in CMS Energy by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,256,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $950,227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,486,074 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CMS Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $171,798,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,741,389 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $649,264,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,269 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $89,173,000. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in CMS Energy during the fourth quarter worth $53,904,000. Institutional investors own 93.57% of the company's stock.

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.