CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Shares Acquired by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in CMS Energy by 171.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in CMS Energy by 106.8% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in CMS Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in CMS Energy by 206.1% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CMS opened at $74.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $22.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. 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 Co. has a one year low of $56.61 and a one year high of $74.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.59.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CMS Energy Co. 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This is an increase from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.36%.

Insider Activity at CMS Energy

In other CMS Energy news, Director John G. Russell sold 28,750 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.85, for a total transaction of $1,893,187.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 144,059 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,285.15. The trade was a 16.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total value of $134,440.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 63,197 shares in the company, valued at $4,248,102.34. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,950 shares of company stock worth $2,669,620. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CMS. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on CMS Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays raised CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.69.

CMS Energy 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.