BLB&B Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

BLB&B Advisors LLC cut its stake in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CMS. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 755,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,332,000 after purchasing an additional 32,474 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 8,242 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 13,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of CMS Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 53,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,584,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE CMS opened at $68.69 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market cap of $20.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.42. CMS Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $55.10 and a 52 week high of $72.40.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its 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 14.01% and a return on equity of 12.81%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $0.5425 dividend. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. This is a positive change from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on CMS shares. 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. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on CMS Energy in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CMS Energy news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.17, for a total value of $136,340.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 64,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,439.07. This represents a 3.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John G. Russell sold 28,750 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.85, for a total transaction of $1,893,187.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 144,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,486,285.15. This represents a 16.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,686 shares of company stock valued at $2,228,084 over the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.