Barclays Lowers CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Price Target to $79.00

Key Points

• Barclays lowered its price target on CMS Energy from $81.00 to $79.00 while keeping an "overweight" rating, implying roughly a 5.24% upside from the current share price.
• Q1 beat and guidance maintained: CMS reported $1.13 EPS (vs. $1.11 consensus) and $2.73B revenue (up ~11.6% y/y), and reaffirmed FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $3.83–$3.90 while raising capital expenditures to meet rising demand.
• Raised capex creates funding and leverage risk (debt-to-equity ~1.89); insiders sold ~20,664 shares recently, and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $81.50.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays from $81.00 to $79.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Barclays's target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.24% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CMS Energy from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on CMS Energy from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on CMS Energy from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Williams Trading set a $80.00 price target on CMS Energy in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on CMS Energy from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CMS Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.50.

CMS Energy Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of CMS traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.07. 238,782 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,026,161. The stock has a market cap of $23.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's 50-day moving average is $77.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.05. CMS Energy has a 12 month low of $67.71 and a 12 month high of $80.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.95 billion. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 12.54%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. CMS Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.830-3.90 EPS. Research analysts forecast that CMS Energy will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CMS Energy

In related news, Director John G. Russell sold 14,914 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.75, for a total value of $1,129,735.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 131,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,966,276. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.23, for a total value of $312,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 70,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,528,514.10. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 20,664 shares of company stock worth $1,579,506 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CMS Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in CMS Energy by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,672,292 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,844,213,000 after buying an additional 1,501,991 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in CMS Energy by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,323,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $579,902,000 after buying an additional 183,589 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in CMS Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,900,632 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $358,865,000 after buying an additional 128,860 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CMS Energy during the fourth quarter worth $316,057,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in CMS Energy by 16.7% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,166,815 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $323,262,000 after buying an additional 595,564 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.57% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting CMS Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting CMS Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat estimates: CMS reported roughly $1.13 EPS (vs. ~$1.11 consensus) and revenue of $2.73B, with revenue up ~11.6% year-over-year — a clear near-term operational beat that supports the stock. CMS Energy Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Guidance reaffirmed: Management reaffirmed FY2026 adjusted EPS of $3.83–$3.90, in line with analyst expectations, which limits near-term forecast risk and supports investor confidence. Press Release — Q1 Results & Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Increased capital spending tied to demand: CMS said it is boosting its capital expenditure plan to support rising power demand — signaling growth investment that could drive longer-term rate base expansion and earnings power. Reuters — Boosts Capex Plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and slides available: Full Q1 2026 earnings call transcript and slide deck were published for investors seeking details on drivers (weather, customer demand, regulatory items). Useful for modeling but no new surprises beyond the release. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Company materials: The investor slide deck and official release give the detailed metrics and reaffirmation; they corroborate the beat and guidance but don’t change the headline outlook. Earnings Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Funding and leverage risk: Analysts note the company’s growth plan and higher capex raise funding needs and could increase leverage (debt-to-equity ~1.89), creating execution and financing risks that could weigh on the stock if rates or capital costs rise. TipRanks — Growth vs Funding Risks
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/regulatory weather risk: Commentary that rate relief may be needed to offset storm impacts and other weather-related costs highlights potential volatility in earnings and regulatory timing. Investing.com — Rate Relief vs Storms

About CMS Energy

CMS Energy NYSE: CMS is an energy company based in Jackson, Michigan, whose principal business is the regulated utility operations of its subsidiary, Consumers Energy. The company is primarily focused on providing electric and natural gas service to customers in Michigan, operating the generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure necessary to deliver energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Headquartered in Jackson, CMS Energy conducts its core activities within the state and is regulated by state utility authorities.

Through Consumers Energy and related subsidiaries, CMS Energy develops, owns and operates a portfolio of generation assets and delivers a range of customer-facing services, including electricity and natural gas supply, grid management, energy efficiency programs and demand-response offerings.

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