CMS Energy Corporation 5.875% J (CMSC): fair value, margin of safety and Wheel Score

Is CMSC undervalued?

At 19.88 (close of 16 Oct 2026), CMSC trades 29% under the GLS average fair value of 27.97. 4 of the 7 models that produced a value land above the price. A discount of this size counts as a positive margin of safety in every GLS screen; whether it is enough depends on the rest of the picture - the health score, the moat and the option premium below.

The 7 models disagree widely: Lynch gives 8.00 while DCF gives 50.05. A spread that wide means the average is sensitive to which methods you trust; the model table below shows where each one lands, and the Quote page lets you switch any of them off.

The nightly engine files CMSC under Defensive: a low beta, a dividend and positive earnings.

Nine valuation models for CMSC

Each model turns the latest filed numbers into a value per share; the GLS fair value is the simple average of the ones that produce a positive number. The last two rows are shown for reference and never enter the average. The Quote page lets you switch any model off and add your own margin of safety.

Quality and financial health

Financial health is average - CMSC passes 5 of the nine Piotroski tests, which falls one point short of the Sunday Scan's "6 or more" rule. The Financials tab on the Quote page shows which tests fail. The GLS Moat score is low at 4.6 out of 10, which says the ten-year record of revenue, earnings, margins and returns on capital has been inconsistent - growth and shocks rather than steady compounding.

Returns on capital are thin or negative - ROIC 3.8%, ROE 11.7%, ROA 2.7% - with debt at 2.07 times equity and negative free cash flow. Debt of 2.07 times equity is on the high side for the sector and is worth checking against the cash flow before treating the stock as a long-term hold.

The dividend yield is 3.36% at a payout ratio of 67%; for a wheel trader holding assigned shares the dividend adds to the covered-call premium, and the ex-dividend date is worth knowing before a call is sold. Revenue comes mainly from Residential Utility Services 55%, Commercial Utility Service 33%, Industrial Utility Service 12% (quarter Q2 FY2026).

Institutional ownership scores 5/10, insider activity 5/10 and Congressional trading 5/10 on the GLS smart-money scales.

Wheel Score 39: No options

CMSC has no listed options in the nightly snapshot, so there is nothing to sell and the stock cannot be wheeled however good the business; the Wheel Score is capped at 39 and shown as "No options" (39 here). The valuation and quality numbers still apply to owning the shares outright.

Volume runs at 21k shares a day on a market cap of $6.1B, with a beta of 0.46 - a low beta, so day-to-day moves are smaller than the market's; the Stability part of the Wheel Score gives that 11 of 20.

The Wheel Score ranks ~7,400 US stocks for selling cash-secured puts and covered calls; it is updated nightly and is not a recommendation. The walkthrough lesson shows how the score fits into a trade, start to finish.

Upcoming events

CMS Energy Corporation 5.875% J reports earnings on 22 Oct 2026 (before the open) - inside the 14-day window the Sunday Scan avoids, because a put sold now would carry the report's gap risk.

Earnings, dividend, IPO, split and economic calendars for the whole market, filterable to your watchlists.

Similar stocks in Regulated Electric

The 12 companies below are the closest to CMS Energy Corporation 5.875% J by market cap within the Regulated Electric industry, each with its own fact sheet; the Compare page puts up to eight of them side by side.

⚖ Compare CMSC with 7 of them   All Utilities stocks →