Guggenheim Reaffirms Neutral Rating for CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS)

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating restated by investment analysts at Guggenheim in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $69.00 price objective on the utilities provider's stock. Guggenheim's price target would suggest a potential upside of 0.12% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on CMS. Mizuho downgraded CMS Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on CMS Energy from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded CMS Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.15.

CMS Energy Price Performance

CMS stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $68.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,264,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,195,745. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company has a market cap of $20.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.42. CMS Energy has a fifty-two week low of $55.10 and a fifty-two week high of $72.40.

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

Insider Activity at CMS Energy

In related news, Director John G. Russell sold 28,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 144,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,285.15. This represents a 16.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 936 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.50, for a total value of $64,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,686 shares of company stock worth $2,228,084. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in CMS Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in CMS Energy by 171.9% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 106.8% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of CMS Energy during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 206.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 701 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. 93.57% of the stock is 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.