CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Upgraded by Barclays to “Overweight” Rating

Barclays upgraded shares of CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Barclays currently has $75.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $68.00.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on CMS. StockNews.com upgraded CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on CMS Energy in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.69.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

CMS opened at $70.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. CMS Energy has a 12-month low of $56.31 and a 12-month high of $72.40.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last released 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 return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. On average, equities analysts forecast that CMS Energy will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $0.5425 dividend. This is an increase from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. CMS Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CMS Energy

In other news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total value of $134,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,248,102.34. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total value of $467,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 21,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,509,815.68. This trade represents a 23.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 37,450 shares of company stock worth $2,495,020. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMS. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of CMS Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 106.8% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 171.9% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 2,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. 93.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CMS Energy

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.