CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Price Target Raised to $81.00

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) had its target price raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $79.00 to $81.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

CMS has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $82.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded CMS Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.62.

CMS Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CMS opened at $71.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $21.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.90. CMS Energy has a fifty-two week low of $65.17 and a fifty-two week high of $76.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.20.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.07. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.10% and a net margin of 12.62%.The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CMS Energy will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CMS Energy

In other news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.47, for a total transaction of $289,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 64,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,656,849.73. This represents a 5.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CMS Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 379.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 61,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,532,000 after buying an additional 48,954 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its holdings in CMS Energy by 769.5% during the 3rd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 27,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after acquiring an additional 24,356 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 9.5% during the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 81,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,985,000 after acquiring an additional 7,100 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 64.5% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 76,654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,616,000 after acquiring an additional 30,061 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in shares of CMS Energy by 17.3% in the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 630,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,198,000 after purchasing an additional 92,980 shares in the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CMS Energy

CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS) is an energy company based in Jackson, Michigan, whose principal business is the regulated utility operations of its subsidiary, Consumers Energy. The company is primarily focused on providing electric and natural gas service to customers in Michigan, operating the generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure necessary to deliver energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Headquartered in Jackson, CMS Energy conducts its core activities within the state and is regulated by state utility authorities.

Through Consumers Energy and related subsidiaries, CMS Energy develops, owns and operates a portfolio of generation assets and delivers a range of customer-facing services, including electricity and natural gas supply, grid management, energy efficiency programs and demand-response offerings.