CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CMS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CMS Energy from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating and set a $81.00 price target (up previously from $77.00) on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.25.

CMS Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

CMS traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $72.93. 1,771,939 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,281,811. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $72.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.79. CMS Energy has a 52-week low of $58.50 and a 52-week high of $76.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.34.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CMS Energy will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. CMS Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CMS Energy news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.77, for a total value of $147,540.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 71,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,306,349.87. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total value of $174,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,709,093.60. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,200 shares of company stock worth $789,532 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CMS Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in CMS Energy during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 106.8% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 2,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 720 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in CMS Energy by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 813 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in CMS Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. 93.57% of the stock is 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.