CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $77.25.

CMS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on CMS Energy from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Barclays upgraded shares of CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $68.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective (up from $77.00) on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.77, for a total value of $147,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 71,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,306,349.87. This represents a 2.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CMS Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in CMS Energy by 4.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 33,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 503.4% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 175,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,205,000 after buying an additional 146,667 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 29.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,407,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $255,911,000 after buying an additional 783,077 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 25,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,896,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in CMS Energy by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CMS Energy Stock Down 0.0%

CMS stock opened at $71.94 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $72.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.86. The company has a market cap of $21.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. CMS Energy has a 12-month low of $58.50 and a 12-month high of $76.45. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CMS Energy will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.5425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.39%.

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.