Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Makes New $222,000 Investment in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. acquired a new position in shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,829 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CMS. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in CMS Energy during the third quarter worth $26,000. Covington Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of CMS Energy in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Clear Street Markets LLC increased its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 94.9% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of CMS Energy in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CMS Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CMS Energy news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.78, for a total transaction of $202,230.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 68,971 shares in the company, valued at $3,985,144.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Price Performance

Shares of CMS stock opened at $56.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.38. CMS Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $49.87 and a 12 month high of $63.76.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 11.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. This is a boost from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CMS. Barclays lowered their target price on CMS Energy from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on CMS Energy from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered CMS Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group lowered CMS Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on CMS Energy from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CMS Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.55.

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.