Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. trimmed its position in shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 642 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Covington Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. American National Bank lifted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 1,213.6% during the third quarter. American National Bank now owns 578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 94.9% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 93.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Wolfe Research raised shares of CMS Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Guggenheim raised shares of CMS Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CMS Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.55.

Insider Transactions at CMS Energy

In other news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 3,500 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.78, for a total transaction of $202,230.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 68,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,985,144.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CMS opened at $57.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.38. CMS Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $49.87 and a 12 month high of $63.76. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a net margin of 11.89% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This is a boost from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. CMS Energy’s payout ratio is 68.44%.

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.