CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Rating Increased to Hold at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

CMS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Guggenheim upped 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. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $65.00.

CMS Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of CMS opened at $63.66 on Friday. CMS Energy has a 52 week low of $49.87 and a 52 week high of $64.28. The firm has a market cap of $19.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.18.

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

CMS Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.80%.

Insider Transactions at CMS Energy

In related news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 1,667 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Jon E. Barfield sold 2,360 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.79, for a total value of $143,464.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $884,859.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 1,667 shares of the company’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 transaction 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 $4,098,433.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,027 shares of company stock valued at $365,651. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CMS Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMS. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in CMS Energy by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 64,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,721,000 after acquiring an additional 26,034 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CMS Energy by 80.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the fourth quarter worth $651,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CMS Energy by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the period. 93.57% of the stock is currently 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.