Company Reports

We are reaffirming our $57 fair value estimate for CMS Energy after the company reported earning $0.97 per share in the first quarter on an adjusted basis, up from $0.70 in the first quarter last year. We are reaffirming our narrow moat rating.

We are raising our CMS Energy fair value estimate to $57 from $55 after the company reported 2023 earnings slightly above our estimate, raised 2024 guidance, and added $1.5 billion to its five-year capital investment plan. We are reaffirming our narrow moat rating.

CMS Energy's decade-long transformation into a high-quality regulated utility positions it for a long runway of growth as long as Michigan regulators continue to support energy infrastructure investment. State clean energy legislation passed in 2023 should keep that investment growth going into the next decade.

With the U.N. Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as COP28, starting this week, we are reasserting our view that the market underappreciates utilities' critical role in limiting global warming.

We are reaffirming our $55 fair value estimate and narrow moat rating for CMS Energy after meeting with management to discuss Michigan's new clean energy legislation passed Nov. 8.

CMS Energy's decade-long transformation into a high-quality regulated utility positions it for a long runway of growth as long as Michigan regulators continue to support energy infrastructure investment.

We are reaffirming our $55 fair value estimate for CMS Energy after the company reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.61, up from $0.56 in the third quarter of 2022. Earnings are on track to meet our full-year outlook. We are reaffirming our narrow moat rating.

We are reaffirming our fair value estimates and economic moat ratings for all U.S. utilities after the sector fell nearly 5% on Monday. We think the sector's 11% drop since last week offers a rare opportunity for investors to buy high-quality utilities at very attractive prices.

We are reaffirming our $55 fair value estimate for CMS Energy after the company reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.75, up from $0.53 in the second quarter of 2022. Earnings are on track to meet our full-year outlook, despite a large weather-related drag in the first quarter that depressed first-half results. We are reaffirming our narrow moat rating.

We are reaffirming our $55 fair value estimate for CMS Energy after the company reported first-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.70, down from $1.20 in the first quarter of 2022 primarily due to an extreme year-over-year change in winter weather. Earnings are on track to meet our full-year outlook despite the slow start to the year. We are reaffirming our narrow moat and stable moat trend ratings.

CMS Energy's decade-long transformation into a high-quality regulated utility positions it for a long runway of growth.

CMS Energy's decade-long transformation into a high-quality regulated utility positions it for a long runway of growth.

We are reaffirming our $54 fair value estimate for CMS Energy after the company reported 2022 adjusted earnings per share of $2.89, up from $2.65 in 2021. Results were in line with our forecast and at the high end of management's 2022 guidance range. We are reaffirming our narrow moat and stable moat trend ratings.

CMS Energy's decade-long transformation into a high-quality regulated utility positions it for a long runway of growth.

We are reaffirming our $53 fair value estimate for CMS Energy after the company reported year-to-date adjusted earnings per share of $2.29, up from $2.18 through three quarters in 2021 and on track to meet our full-year forecast. We are reaffirming our narrow moat and stable moat trend ratings.

We are reaffirming our fair value estimates for U.S. utilities after raising our 10-year annual U.S. electricity demand growth forecast to 1.4%, up from 1.2% in our previous forecast two years ago. We also are reaffirming our economic moat and moat trend ratings for all U.S. utilities.

Our initial analysis of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden plans to sign on Aug. 16 has led us to reaffirm or make slight increases to our fair value estimates for U.S. utilities. We are reaffirming our moat and moat trend ratings.

CMS Energy's decade-long transformation into a high-quality regulated utility positions it for a long runway of growth. CMS Energy's work with Michigan regulators and politicians has turned the state into one of the most constructive areas for utility investment. These constructive relationships will be critical as CMS pursues an aggressive clean energy growth plan.

We are reaffirming our $53 fair value estimate for CMS Energy after the company reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.53 in the second quarter. Management reaffirmed its $2.85-$2.89 EPS guidance for 2022. We think CMS could exceed that range after a better-than-expected start to the year and potential cost savings later this year. We are reaffirming our narrow moat and stable moat trend ratings.

We are reaffirming our fair value estimates and economic moat ratings for our U.S. utilities coverage after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 9.1% core inflation on July 14. We continue to consider inflation to be the largest threat to utilities' long-term returns and ability to pay robust, growing dividends.