CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $73.45 and last traded at $73.65, with a volume of 54032 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $73.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CMS shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays raised CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.42.

CMS Energy Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $21.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $68.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.79.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 12.02%. On average, equities research analysts expect that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.5425 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. CMS Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total value of $134,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 63,197 shares in the company, valued at $4,248,102.34. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John G. Russell sold 28,750 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 144,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,486,285.15. The trade was a 16.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,950 shares of company stock worth $2,817,160 over the last ninety days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in CMS Energy by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in CMS Energy by 5.4% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 1.3% in the third quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 15,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 25.6% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 10,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $710,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.