CMS Energy Co. (CMS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.54 on February 28th

CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.5425 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52.

CMS Energy has increased its dividend by an average of 5.8% annually over the last three years. CMS Energy has a payout ratio of 53.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect CMS Energy to earn $3.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.06 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.4%.

CMS Energy Price Performance

CMS stock opened at $68.69 on Friday. CMS Energy has a 1 year low of $55.10 and a 1 year high of $72.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $66.80 and a 200 day moving average of $67.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $20.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.42.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 14.01%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CMS Energy will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on CMS Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on CMS Energy in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 936 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.50, for a total transaction of $64,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,417 shares in the company, valued at $1,672,564.50. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.17, for a total transaction of $136,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 64,771 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,439.07. This represents a 3.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,686 shares of company stock valued at $2,228,084. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.