Stifel Financial Corp Lowers Stake in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Stifel Financial Corp lowered its holdings in shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 90,929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 820 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $6,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CMS. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,261 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 6,247 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 1,476.1% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 1,718 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 274,495 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,341,000 after purchasing an additional 8,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of CMS Energy stock opened at $67.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.41. CMS Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $55.10 and a 52-week high of $72.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.10.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. CMS Energy had a net margin of 14.01% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. CMS Energy’s payout ratio is 58.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 936 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.50, for a total transaction of $64,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,672,564.50. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.17, for a total transaction of $136,340.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 64,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,439.07. The trade was a 3.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CMS shares. Mizuho lowered shares of CMS Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $72.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.36.

CMS Energy Company 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.