Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires 1,941 Shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $2,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in CMS Energy by 171.9% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in CMS Energy by 106.8% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in CMS Energy in the third quarter worth $40,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in CMS Energy by 206.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in CMS Energy in the third quarter worth $56,000. 93.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John G. Russell sold 28,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $9,486,285.15. This represents a 16.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total transaction of $134,440.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 63,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,248,102.34. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,950 shares of company stock worth $2,669,620. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CMS Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CMS opened at $71.49 on Friday. CMS Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $56.31 and a 1 year high of $72.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $67.22 and its 200 day moving average is $68.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $0.5425 dividend. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 65.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CMS. 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.69.

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.