Yahoo Finance Here's Why You Should Add CMS Energy (CMS) to Your Portfolio
Earnings estimates for CMS Energy Corporation CMS have been revised upward in the past 30 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 has inched up 0.4% to $2.51. Estimates for 2018 remain unchanged at $2.33. CMS Energy’s earnings have surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three out of the trailing four quarters.
In a year's time, the stock has returned 4.9% against its industry’s decline of 0.2%. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Let’s focus on the factors that make CMS Energy a profitable bet.
VGM Score: The stock carries an impressive VGM Score of B. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum with the score being a weighted combination of all three factors. Backtested results indicate that stocks with a favorable VGM Score of A or B coupled with a bullish Zacks Rank offer the best investment bets.
Capital Expenditure Program: CMS Energy is currently focused on capacity maximization, reliability improvement, clean power generation and infrastructure upgrade. The company has a solid capital expenditure program, wherein it plans to spend $10.1 billion on infrastructure upgrades and replacements as well as electric supply projects from 2018 through 2022. It will spend $4.9 billion for Gas Infrastructure, $3.5 billion for Electric Distribution and $1.7 billion for Electric Supply.
Consumers Centric Decisions: CMS Energy is taking initiatives for the benefit of customers. The company’s cost structure aids in reducing residential electric bill and residential gas bill by 6% and 37%, respectively, from 2013’s level. Moreover, the decision to pass on the savings of federal tax reform to customers is projected to lower bills by up to 4%. This is anticipated to attract more customers to CMS Energy, consequently increasing customer base.
Dividend Distribution: CMS Energy pays dividend on a regular basis. In Jan 2018, the company increased its quarterly dividend to 35.75 cents per share, up 7.5% from 33.25 cents. During the first quarter, CMS Energy paid dividends worth $101 million, up from the year-ago quarter’s dividend payment of $94 million. The company expects long-term dividend growth to be in line with its EPS growth guidance 6–8%. This initiative will enable the company to retain investor interest in the stock.
Other Stocks to Consider
Other top-ranked stocks in the same industry include Ameren Corporation AEE, Avangrid, Inc AGR and Otter Tail Corporation OTTR. All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Ameren delivered an average positive surprise of 7.69% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings has inched up 0.7% to $3.04 in the last 90 days.
Avangrid delivered an average positive surprise of 7.79% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings has moved up 0.4% to $2.38 in the last 90 days.
Otter Tail delivered an average positive surprise of 14% in the last four quarters. The 2018 Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings has increased by a penny to $2.00 in the last 90 days.
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