CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.25.

Several research firms recently commented on CMS. Barclays raised shares of CMS Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CMS Energy from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 target price on CMS Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded CMS Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $81.00 price target (up previously from $77.00) on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total transaction of $174,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,790 shares in the company, valued at $2,709,093.60. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,198 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.61, for a total transaction of $161,794.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 69,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,121,121.31. This represents a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,698 shares of company stock worth $483,935 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CMS Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,256,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $950,227,000 after buying an additional 3,486,074 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CMS Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $171,798,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in CMS Energy by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,741,389 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $649,264,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,269 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of CMS Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $106,745,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of CMS Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $89,173,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.57% of the company's stock.

CMS Energy Price Performance

NYSE CMS traded up $0.60 on Wednesday, reaching $71.50. 2,410,494 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,312,079. CMS Energy has a 12 month low of $58.50 and a 12 month high of $76.45. The company has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $72.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.03). CMS Energy had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 12.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that CMS Energy will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.5425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. CMS Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.39%.

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.