CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com lowered shares of CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

CMS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on CMS Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CMS Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten 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 $70.21.

CMS Energy Price Performance

NYSE CMS opened at $69.52 on Wednesday. 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 has a 52-week low of $55.10 and a 52-week high of $72.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.50. The stock has a market cap of $20.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.41.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. CMS Energy had a net margin of 14.01% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that CMS Energy will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.86%.

Insider Activity at CMS Energy

In related news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.17, for a total value of $136,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 64,771 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,439.07. The trade was a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMS. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in CMS Energy by 80.0% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 16,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 7,256 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. increased its stake in CMS Energy by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 76,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,644,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in CMS Energy during the 1st quarter worth $110,000. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. raised its holdings in CMS Energy by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. now owns 323,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,519,000 after acquiring an additional 35,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Inc. CA lifted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 33,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,008,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the period. 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.