CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) PT Set at $71.00 by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CMS. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 price target (up from $77.00) on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CMS Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.00.

CMS Energy Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of CMS opened at $69.30 on Thursday. 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 has a 52 week low of $58.50 and a 52 week high of $76.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.53 and a 200-day moving average of $69.87.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.03). CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. CMS Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CMS Energy will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.5425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. CMS Energy’s payout ratio is currently 64.39%.

Insider Transactions at CMS Energy

In other CMS Energy news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,198 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.61, for a total value of $161,794.78. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 69,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,121,121.31. The trade was a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CMS Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in CMS Energy during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 106.8% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 285.5% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of CMS Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 2,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

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.