Will CMS Energy (CMS) Disappoint Investors in Q4 Earnings?

NI ED CMS CNP

CMS Energy Corporation (CMS - Free Report) is set to report fourth-quarter 2017 financial results on Feb 14, before the market opens.

Last quarter, the company posted a positive earnings surprise of 12.73%. Notably, it surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters, the average beat being 0.61%.

Let’s see how things are shaping up at the company prior to this announcement.

Factors at Play

CMS Energy’s regulated electric power operations in Michigan generate relatively stable earnings and a growing earnings stream.

In recent times, the company has been focusing on capacity maximization, reliability improvement and infrastructure upgrade. This in turn is expected to boost its bottom line as is evident from management’s raised guidance for 2017 earnings. Moreover, the absence of discretionary activities after the second half of 2016, such as debt pre-funding and relatively high volume of donations, may drive earnings in the

second half of 2017.

In line with this, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 51 cents, reflecting a year-over-year surge of 75.9%.

Weather conditions remain a key determinant. Michigan saw a wet winter in the fourth quarter. This is expected to result in lower household expenditures on heating, which might reflect in fourth-quarter revenues.

CMS Energy Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

 

Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"

From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.

It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.

This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.

Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>