AQR Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS - Free Report) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 309,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 64,164 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of CMS Energy worth $20,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CMS. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in CMS Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $248,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in CMS Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $589,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,780 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,397,000 after buying an additional 2,965 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in CMS Energy by 7.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 408,331 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,840,000 after buying an additional 28,695 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,471 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $765,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CMS Energy Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of CMS stock traded down $0.37 on Friday, reaching $72.23. The company had a trading volume of 2,475,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,291,312. CMS Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $58.50 and a 12 month high of $76.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $21.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $72.88 and a 200-day moving average of $69.84.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.03). CMS Energy had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 12.02%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

CMS Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.5425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. CMS Energy's payout ratio is presently 64.39%.

Insider Activity at CMS Energy

In other news, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total transaction of $174,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,709,093.60. This represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total transaction of $467,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 21,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,509,815.68. The trade was a 23.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,398 shares of company stock valued at $951,327. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CMS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CMS Energy from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays raised shares of CMS Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded CMS Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.25.

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.