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

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) had its target price boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $73.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upgraded CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CMS Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.36.

CMS Energy Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of CMS stock opened at $73.24 on Monday. CMS Energy has a 1 year low of $56.61 and a 1 year high of $75.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of 22.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.79.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 12.02%. As a group, research analysts expect that CMS Energy will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.5425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. CMS Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CMS Energy

In related news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total transaction of $467,392.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,509,815.68. This trade represents a 23.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total transaction of $174,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,709,093.60. This represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $789,532 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CMS Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMS. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in CMS Energy by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,822,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $128,715,000 after purchasing an additional 25,196 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in CMS Energy by 43.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 6,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 35.5% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 26,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 6,959 shares during the period. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by 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.