Short Interest in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Increases By 7.5%

CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,280,000 shares, a growth of 7.5% from the January 15th total of 8,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank lifted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John G. Russell sold 28,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.85, for a total value of $1,893,187.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 144,059 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,285.15. The trade was a 16.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total transaction of $467,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,509,815.68. This trade represents a 23.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,386 shares of company stock worth $2,559,136. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in CMS Energy by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in CMS Energy by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its stake in CMS Energy by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 15,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in CMS Energy by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CMS Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:CMS traded up $0.73 on Tuesday, hitting $69.54. 2,278,905 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,227,074. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.83. CMS Energy has a 52 week low of $56.31 and a 52 week high of $72.40. The company has a market cap of $20.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.42.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 12.02%. As a group, analysts expect that CMS Energy will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $0.5425 dividend. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. This is a boost from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.36%.

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.