CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on CMS Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on CMS Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI raised CMS Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.29.

CMS Energy Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:CMS opened at $67.85 on Monday. CMS Energy has a 52-week low of $54.27 and a 52-week high of $72.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.87. The company has a market cap of $20.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.23.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. CMS Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CMS Energy will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. This is a boost from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 58.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 28,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 6,968 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 56.8% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 74,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,511,000 after acquiring an additional 27,053 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in CMS Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 35,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,132,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 15.6% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in CMS Energy in the first quarter worth $89,000. 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.