CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on CMS Energy from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock 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 research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $81.00 price target (up previously from $77.00) on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CMS Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.00.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CMS Energy stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $69.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,948,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,309,527. The firm has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. CMS Energy has a one year low of $58.50 and a one year high of $76.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.93.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.03). CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that CMS Energy will post 3.59 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.5425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. CMS Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.39%.

Insider Transactions at CMS Energy

In related news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,198 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction on 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 now directly owns 69,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,121,121.31. The trade was a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of CMS Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in CMS Energy by 106.8% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in CMS Energy by 285.5% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 451 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of CMS Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of CMS Energy by 2,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 720 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.57% of the company's stock.

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.