EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 464 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in CMS Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 171.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of CMS Energy by 106.8% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of CMS Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in CMS Energy by 2,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CMS stock opened at $73.25 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.19 and a 200 day moving average of $68.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.35. CMS Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $56.61 and a 52 week high of $75.06.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.5425 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. This is a positive change from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.36%.

Insider Activity

In other CMS Energy news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 71,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,306,349.87. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total transaction of $174,600.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,950 shares of company stock worth $2,682,720 in the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMS has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and set 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

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.