CMS Energy Corporation (NYSE:CMS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of CMS Energy Corporation (NYSE:CMS) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.25.

A number of research firms have weighed in on CMS. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CMS Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Monday, July 7th.

CMS Energy Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:CMS opened at $72.84 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $21.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.06. CMS Energy has a fifty-two week low of $62.73 and a fifty-two week high of $76.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.75.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. CMS Energy had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. Analysts predict that CMS Energy will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,198 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.61, for a total transaction of $161,794.78. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 69,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,121,121.31. The trade was a 3.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 285.5% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 127.7% during the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Institutional investors own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

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.