CMS Energy Corporation (NYSE:CMS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give CMS Energy a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating (13 brokers: 7 buy, 5 hold, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month target of $81.67.
• CMS beat Q1 estimates (EPS $1.13 vs. $1.11; revenue $2.73B, +11.6% YoY), reaffirmed FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $3.83–3.90, and raised capex to support growth—boosting rate‑base prospects but increasing funding and execution risk.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.57 (3.0% yield), while insiders showed mixed activity (a VP sold shares and a director bought 2,000 shares) and institutions like Vanguard materially increased holdings.

Shares of CMS Energy Corporation (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.6667.

Several equities research analysts have commented on CMS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CMS Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $80.00 target price on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Insider Transactions at CMS Energy

In other news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.23, for a total transaction of $312,920.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Diane Leopold purchased 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $76.70 per share, for a total transaction of $153,400.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $212,382.30. This represents a 260.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 20,664 shares of company stock worth $1,579,506 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 3.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 2.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CMS Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $316,057,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 16.7% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting CMS Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat — CMS reported Q1 EPS around $1.13 and revenue of $2.73B (year-over-year revenue +11.6%), beating estimates and showing underlying demand strength. Management reaffirmed FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $3.83–3.90. CMS Energy Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Increase Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Capex lift signals growth — Reuters notes CMS boosted its capital-expenditure plan to meet rising power demand, which supports future rate-base growth and regulated earnings expansion. That growth thesis is constructive for long-term utility value. CMS Energy beats profit estimates, boosts capital expenditure plan amid rising power demand
• Positive Sentiment: Company releases and coverage emphasize solid quarter and outlook reaffirmation, reinforcing that operational performance is intact. CMS Energy Posts Strong Q1 2026 Results, Reaffirms Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings-call transcript available — management struck a generally confident tone on demand and operations; the call provides detail on storm impacts, rate proceedings and timing for project execution but adds few new surprises. Useful for modeling adjustments. CMS Energy Corporation (CMS) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Press release and slide deck published — minor discrepancies in reported per-share figures across outlets (company release vs. some wire reports) but overall message—beat + reaffirmation—remains consistent. CMS Energy Announces First Quarter Results for 2026, Reaffirms 2026 Adjusted EPS Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Funding and execution risk — coverage highlights that higher capex increases funding needs and debt/financing risk; management flagged the trade-off between growth ambition and funding exposure, which can pressure sentiment if markets fret about issuance or credit metrics. CMS Energy Balances Growth Ambition With Funding Risks
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term uncertainty from weather and storm costs — analysts note storms and timing of rate relief can offset parts of the quarter's strength, introducing quarter-to-quarter variability. CMS Energy earnings up next: Can rate relief offset storms?

CMS Energy Price Performance

Shares of CMS opened at $75.92 on Wednesday. CMS Energy has a twelve month low of $67.71 and a twelve month high of $80.36. The stock's 50 day moving average is $77.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.38 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

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

CMS Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. CMS Energy's payout ratio is 64.59%.

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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