Short Interest in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Grows By 7.5%

CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,280,000 shares, an increase of 7.5% from the January 15th total of 8,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total value of $174,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,709,093.60. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total transaction of $134,440.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 63,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,248,102.34. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,950 shares of company stock valued at $2,669,620. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CMS Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in CMS Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,175,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,544,370,000 after acquiring an additional 316,011 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in CMS Energy by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,256,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $950,227,000 after buying an additional 3,486,074 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in 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 buying an additional 2,131,269 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in CMS Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,608,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $505,869,000 after buying an additional 98,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in CMS Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,986,489 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $199,049,000 after buying an additional 311,489 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.57% of the company's stock.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CMS traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $71.49. 2,150,636 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,197,472. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.42. CMS Energy has a 1 year low of $56.31 and a 1 year high of $72.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 12.02%. Analysts anticipate that CMS Energy will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $0.5425 dividend. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. This is a boost from CMS Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. CMS Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CMS shares. StockNews.com raised CMS Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of CMS Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.69.

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.