JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 774,927 Shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,660,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 774,927 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 6.74% of CMS Energy worth $1,206,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covington Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. purchased a new position in CMS Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY purchased a new position in CMS Energy during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its holdings in CMS Energy by 94.9% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in CMS Energy during the first quarter worth about $37,000. 95.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of CMS Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $63.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 6th. Barclays started coverage on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Argus dropped their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $75.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Monday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CMS Energy news, Director Jon E. Barfield sold 2,345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total value of $131,460.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $783,830.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CMS opened at $56.79 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $58.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.37. CMS Energy Co. has a one year low of $52.41 and a one year high of $68.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. CMS Energy had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The firm’s revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 4th were issued a $0.4875 dividend. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 3rd. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.00%.

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.