CMS Energy Corporation (NYSE:CMS) to Issue $0.54 Quarterly Dividend

CMS Energy Corporation (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, July 21st, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.5425 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th.

CMS Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 56.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect CMS Energy to earn $3.88 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.17 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 55.9%.

CMS Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of CMS Energy stock traded up $0.10 on Thursday, hitting $72.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,900,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,942,700. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.38. CMS Energy has a twelve month low of $62.33 and a twelve month high of $76.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.24 and a 200-day moving average of $70.64.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. CMS Energy had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. Research analysts predict that CMS Energy will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on CMS shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CMS Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective (up previously from $77.00) on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "peer perform" rating on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at CMS Energy

In related news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,198 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.61, for a total value of $161,794.78. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 69,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,121,121.31. This represents a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CMS Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CMS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in CMS Energy by 10.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,638 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,602,000 after buying an additional 3,367 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 25,243 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,896,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in CMS Energy by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in CMS Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $312,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in CMS Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $293,000. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.