Morgan Stanley Cuts CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Price Target to $67.00

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $69.00 to $67.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 3.60% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on CMS. StockNews.com cut CMS Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank raised their price target on CMS Energy from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Guggenheim raised their price target on CMS Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded CMS Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.21.

CMS Energy Price Performance

CMS Energy stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.50. 261,073 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,267,068. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.73 and a 200 day moving average of $65.42. CMS Energy has a 1-year low of $55.10 and a 1-year high of $72.40. The company has a market capitalization of $20.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.41.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 14.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CMS Energy will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CMS Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 171.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in CMS Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of CMS Energy by 206.1% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of CMS Energy by 431.3% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 712 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CMS Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. 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.