Share price of CMS Energy Corporation (NYSE:CMS) , an electric and power company, hit a new 52-week high of $47.50 on May 26, closing a tad lower at $47.41. In the last six months, the stock returned about 17.9% compared with the Zacks categorized Utility - Electric Power industry’s gain of 11.3%.
In the last 52 weeks, CMS Energy’s share price ranged from a low of $ 38.78 to a high of $ 47.50. Average volume of shares traded in the last three months is approximately 1.86 million.
Factors behind the Performance
CMS Energy’s shares have been on the rise following strong first-quarter 2017 results that were declared on May 1. The company posted earnings per share of 71 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 65 cents by 9.2%. Quarterly earnings also improved 20.3% from the year-ago figure of 59 cents.
The company has been a consistent performer, delivering positive earnings surprises in all the four quarters with an average surprise of 13.62%. The long-term earnings growth of the company is presently pegged at 6.0%.
CMS Energy plans to invest about $18 billion between 2017 and 2026, majority of which will be directed toward infrastructure development projects. The company wants to provide safe, reliable and efficient service to its customers. These initiatives will enable the company to achieve its long-term EPS growth target in the range of 6–8% in 2017.
The company’s base capital investment plan includes $2.6 billion at the electric utility and $2 billion at the gas utility by 2021. It has set aside an investment target of $2.5 billion for reducing outages and improving customer satisfaction.
In the last few years, operating cash flow of the company has grown by more than $100 million each year. Since 2004, it has increased from $353 million to $2.1 billion last year. Over the next five years, it is expected to grow about $800 million to $2.9 billion.
Stocks to Consider
CMS Energy currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors can consider better-ranked stocks from the same industry like RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) , sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR) and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (NYSE:BIP) carrying Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
RWE AG's Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 moved up nearly 24.7% to $2.02 per share in the last 60 days.
Avangrid delivered a positive earnings surprise of 7.35% in the first quarter of 2017. Its 2017 estimates have risen by 0.5% to $2.21 per share in the last 60 days.
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’ Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 moved up nearly 2.5% to $3.22 per share in the last 60 days.
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CMS Energy Corporation (CMS): Free Stock Analysis Report
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (BIP): Free Stock Analysis Report
RWE AG (RWEOY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Avangrid, Inc. (AGR): Free Stock Analysis Report
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