CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

CMS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Scotiabank raised their price objective on CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised shares of CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.36.

CMS Energy Price Performance

Shares of CMS stock traded down $1.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.08. The company had a trading volume of 2,271,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,140,988. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $70.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.35. 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 has a 52 week low of $56.61 and a 52 week high of $75.06.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts predict that CMS Energy will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.77, for a total value of $147,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 71,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,306,349.87. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total value of $174,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,709,093.60. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $789,532 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CMS Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in CMS Energy by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after buying an additional 5,662 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in CMS Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 76,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,103,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 26,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,787,000 after acquiring an additional 8,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 170,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,377,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is 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.