CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $66.64 and traded as high as $67.11. CMS Energy shares last traded at $66.65, with a volume of 1,086,627 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on CMS Energy from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut CMS Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.36.

CMS Energy Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $19.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.41. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $68.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

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

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. This is an increase from CMS Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. CMS Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CMS Energy

In related news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 936 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.50, for a total value of $64,116.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,672,564.50. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John G. Russell sold 28,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.85, for a total value of $1,893,187.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 144,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,486,285.15. This represents a 16.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,686 shares of company stock worth $2,228,084 in the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CMS. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in CMS Energy by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,610,120 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $537,503,000 after buying an additional 719,093 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in CMS Energy by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,509,770 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $528,713,000 after acquiring an additional 105,062 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in CMS Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,155,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $152,267,000 after acquiring an additional 18,403 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in CMS Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,822,389 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $128,715,000 after purchasing an additional 25,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in CMS Energy by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,281,504 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,292,000 after purchasing an additional 233,633 shares during the period. 93.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.