Short Interest in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Increases By 7.5%

CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,280,000 shares, a growth of 7.5% from the January 15th total of 8,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Insider Transactions at CMS Energy

In other news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total value of $467,392.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 21,643 shares of the company’s stock, 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John G. Russell sold 28,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.85, for a total transaction of $1,893,187.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 144,059 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,285.15. This trade represents a 16.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,386 shares of company stock valued at $2,559,136. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in CMS Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $291,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in CMS Energy by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in CMS Energy by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,624,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $174,895,000 after purchasing an additional 468,233 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its stake in CMS Energy by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 52,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 21,737 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in CMS Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,196,000. 93.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

CMS stock traded up $0.73 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $69.54. 2,278,905 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,227,074. CMS Energy has a twelve month low of $56.31 and a twelve month high of $72.40. The company has a market capitalization of $20.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CMS Energy will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.5425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CMS. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CMS Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.15.

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.