CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $72.48 and last traded at $72.05, with a volume of 170736 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $71.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on CMS shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on CMS Energy in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays upgraded CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.69.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $67.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.39. The firm has a market cap of $21.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $0.5425 dividend. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. CMS Energy’s payout ratio is 65.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CMS Energy

In related news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,643 shares in the company, valued at $1,509,815.68. The trade was a 23.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total transaction of $134,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,950 shares of company stock valued at $2,669,620. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMS. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of CMS Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,017,000. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in CMS Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $291,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in CMS Energy by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,624,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $174,895,000 after buying an additional 468,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 71.8% in the fourth quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 52,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,466,000 after buying an additional 21,737 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.