CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,500,000 shares, a growth of 6.1% from the August 31st total of 8,950,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,030,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

CMS Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:CMS traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,993,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,307,962. CMS Energy has a 12-month low of $49.87 and a 12-month high of $71.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.74.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 13.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CMS Energy will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. CMS Energy’s payout ratio is 62.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CMS. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on CMS Energy from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.38.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in CMS Energy by 101.7% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,891,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $410,223,000 after buying an additional 3,473,977 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 320.9% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,305,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $250,026,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282,697 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in CMS Energy by 14.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 22,662,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,367,483,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,071 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in CMS Energy by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,208,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $360,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in CMS Energy by 105.9% during the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,555,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $92,623,000 after purchasing an additional 800,344 shares in the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.