Empirical Finance LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in CMS Energy by 206.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 431.3% during the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 712 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in CMS Energy during the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in CMS Energy in the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in CMS Energy in the third quarter worth about $56,000. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

CMS opened at $68.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. CMS Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $55.10 and a 12-month high of $72.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $69.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.39 billion, a PE ratio of 19.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.41.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. CMS Energy had a net margin of 14.01% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The firm 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 posted $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.515 dividend. This is an increase from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CMS Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. 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 target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on CMS Energy from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho downgraded CMS Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on CMS Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CMS Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.29.

CMS Energy 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.