CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $63.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. CMS Energy traded as high as $67.97 and last traded at $67.71, with a volume of 348022 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.12.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CMS Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on CMS Energy from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on CMS Energy from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CMS Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CMS Energy news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 1,667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total value of $99,986.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 68,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,098,433.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other CMS Energy news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 1,667 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total transaction of $99,986.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 68,330 shares in the company, valued at $4,098,433.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jon E. Barfield sold 2,360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.79, for a total value of $143,464.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,556 shares in the company, valued at $884,859.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CMS Energy in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CMS Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 431.3% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 712 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of CMS Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CMS Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CMS Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.81 and a 200-day moving average of $60.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.38.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. CMS Energy had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. CMS Energy’s payout ratio is 62.80%.

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.