CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Price Target Raised to $80.00

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) had its target price hoisted by Bank of America from $73.00 to $80.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on CMS. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank increased their price target on CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays upgraded shares of CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.36.

CMS Energy Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE CMS opened at $73.17 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.98 and its 200 day moving average is $69.15. CMS Energy has a twelve month low of $56.61 and a twelve month high of $75.06. 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 (NYSE:CMS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 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%. Research analysts forecast that CMS Energy will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.5425 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. This is an increase from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. CMS Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total transaction of $467,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,643 shares in the company, valued at $1,509,815.68. This trade represents a 23.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.77, for a total transaction of $147,540.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 71,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,306,349.87. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $789,532. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of CMS Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in CMS Energy by 106.8% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in CMS Energy by 171.9% in 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 last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 2,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.