CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CMS. 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. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CMS Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on CMS Energy in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on CMS Energy from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.29.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

CMS stock traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.89. 284,879 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,267,373. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.16. CMS Energy has a 52 week low of $55.10 and a 52 week high of $72.40. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CMS Energy will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.515 dividend. This is a positive change from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in CMS Energy by 101.7% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,891,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $410,223,000 after purchasing an additional 3,473,977 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 22,662,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,367,483,000 after buying an additional 2,786,071 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 310.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,125,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,519,000 after buying an additional 851,364 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 105.9% in the 2nd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,555,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $92,623,000 after buying an additional 800,344 shares during the period. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CMS Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,082,000. 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.