CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Given New $80.00 Price Target at UBS Group

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $77.00 to $80.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 9.09% from the stock’s current price.

CMS has been the topic of several other reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upgraded CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

CMS traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $73.34. 573,917 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,124,969. CMS Energy has a 1-year low of $56.61 and a 1-year high of $75.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 12.02%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CMS Energy will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at CMS Energy

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CMS Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 5.4% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in CMS Energy by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CMS Energy in the third quarter valued at about $77,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in CMS Energy by 171.9% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in CMS Energy by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,610,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $537,503,000 after purchasing an additional 719,093 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

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.