CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Director Sells $174,600.00 in Stock

CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total transaction of $174,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 38,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,709,093.60. This represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

CMS Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CMS opened at $71.49 on Monday. CMS Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $56.31 and a 1 year high of $72.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $67.22 and its 200 day moving average is $68.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (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, sell-side analysts expect that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. This is a boost from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. CMS Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 for the company. Scotiabank lifted 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. Barclays raised shares of CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CMS Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.69.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in CMS Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in CMS Energy by 171.9% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in CMS Energy by 106.8% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in CMS Energy in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in CMS Energy by 206.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

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.