Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Lowers Holdings in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL decreased its holdings in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 450 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $1,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CMS. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in CMS Energy by 320.9% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,305,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $250,026,000 after buying an additional 3,282,697 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 14.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 22,662,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,367,483,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,071 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CMS Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,004,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in CMS Energy by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,208,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $360,537,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of CMS Energy by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,456,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,731,000 after buying an additional 883,180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Price Performance

Shares of CMS Energy stock traded down $0.25 on Friday, reaching $62.96. 1,609,165 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,826,400. The firm has a market cap of $18.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.66 and its 200-day moving average is $59.44. CMS Energy Co. has a one year low of $49.87 and a one year high of $64.28.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. CMS Energy had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 1,667 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total value of $99,986.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 68,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,098,433.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other CMS Energy news, Director Jon E. Barfield sold 2,360 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.79, for a total transaction of $143,464.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $884,859.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 1,667 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total transaction of $99,986.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 68,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,098,433.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,027 shares of company stock valued at $365,651. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CMS shares. Barclays lifted their price target on CMS Energy from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on CMS Energy from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. UBS Group cut CMS Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on CMS Energy from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on CMS Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

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.