Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in CMS Energy Corporation (NYSE:CMS)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its stake in CMS Energy Corporation by 0.4%, holding 38.34 million shares worth approximately $2.88 billion, which represents 12.82% of the company's stock.
• Recent analyst ratings show a mix of opinions on CMS Energy, with one firm downgrading the stock to a "sell" while others maintain "buy" and "hold" ratings, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.25.
• CMS Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5425 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.0%, reflecting a payout ratio of 64.20% as it continues to showcase financial growth with a net margin of 12.76% and revenue rising 14.4% year-over-year.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of CMS Energy Corporation (NYSE:CMS - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,341,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 166,328 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.82% of CMS Energy worth $2,879,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CMS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake 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 valued at $950,227,000 after acquiring an additional 3,486,074 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in shares of CMS Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $89,173,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 8,733.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,013,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001,838 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of CMS Energy during the first quarter valued at about $41,611,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,624,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $174,895,000 after acquiring an additional 468,233 shares during the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CMS Energy

In other news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.62, for a total transaction of $147,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 68,036 shares in the company, valued at $5,008,810.32. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CMS Energy Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE CMS traded up $0.51 on Wednesday, reaching $73.32. 517,668 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,479,534. CMS Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $63.97 and a 12 month high of $76.45. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $71.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.28. The company has a market cap of $21.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.04. CMS Energy had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CMS Energy Corporation will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.5425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. CMS Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI increased 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 note on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wolfe Research reissued a "peer perform" rating on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.25.

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.