CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.54 Per Share

CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of 0.5425 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52.

CMS Energy has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.8% per year over the last three years. CMS Energy has a payout ratio of 53.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect CMS Energy to earn $3.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.06 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.4%.

CMS Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

CMS Energy stock opened at $68.69 on Friday. CMS Energy has a 52 week low of $55.10 and a 52 week high of $72.40. The firm has a market cap of $20.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $66.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last released its quarterly 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 14.01% and a return on equity of 12.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CMS Energy will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CMS Energy

In related news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.17, for a total value of $136,340.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 64,771 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,439.07. This trade represents a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John G. Russell sold 28,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 144,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,486,285.15. This represents a 16.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,686 shares of company stock worth $2,228,084 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CMS shares. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on CMS Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CMS Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.15.

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.