CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.85.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CMS shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on CMS Energy from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho downgraded CMS Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on CMS Energy from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on CMS Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th.

CMS Energy Price Performance

CMS Energy stock opened at $70.77 on Friday. CMS Energy has a one year low of $53.53 and a one year high of $72.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.13. The company has a market cap of $21.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.41.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 13.10%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that CMS Energy will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in CMS Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,116,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in CMS Energy by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,779 shares in the last quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. increased its position in CMS Energy by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 50,682 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CMS Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $313,000. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP increased its position in CMS Energy by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 12,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

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.