CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $75.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $68.00.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on CMS. Scotiabank boosted their target price on CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on CMS Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CMS Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.69.

CMS Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of CMS Energy stock opened at $70.76 on Thursday. CMS Energy has a 12 month low of $56.31 and a 12 month high of $72.40. 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 stock has a market cap of $21.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.18.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. Research analysts predict that CMS Energy will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total transaction of $467,392.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,509,815.68. This represents a 23.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total value of $134,440.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 63,197 shares in the company, valued at $4,248,102.34. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,450 shares of company stock worth $2,495,020. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CMS Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMS. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in CMS Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in CMS Energy by 171.9% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in CMS Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in CMS Energy by 2,900.0% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.