Sifting through countless of stocks in the Multi-Utilities industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in CMS Energy Corporation or NiSource Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how CMS Energy Corporation and NiSource Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About CMS Energy Corporation and NiSource Inc.

CMS Energy Corporation operates as an energy company primarily in Michigan. The company operates through three segments: Electric Utility; Gas Utility; and NorthStar Clean Energy. The Electric Utility segment is involved in the generation, purchase, distribution, and sale of electricity. This segment generates electricity through coal, wind, gas, renewable energy, oil, and nuclear sources. Its distribution system comprises 263 miles of high-voltage distribution overhead lines; 4 miles of high-voltage distribution underground lines; 4,619 miles of high-voltage distribution overhead lines; 18 miles of high-voltage distribution underground lines; 82,854 miles of electric distribution overhead lines; 10,027 miles of underground distribution lines; and 1,102 substations. The Gas Utility segment engages in the purchase, transmission, storage, distribution, and sale of natural gas, which includes 2,337 miles of transmission lines; 14 gas storage fields; 28,433 miles of distribution mains; and 8 compressor stations. The NorthStar Clean Energy segment is involved in the independent power production and marketing, including the development and operation of renewable generation. The company serves 1.9 million electric and 1.8 million gas customers, including residential, commercial, and diversified industrial customers. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Jackson, Michigan.

NiSource Inc., an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Columbia Operations and NIPSCO Operations. The company provides natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers through approximately 37,300 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 310 miles of transmission main pipeline in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland. It also generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 0.5 million customers in various counties in the northern part of Indiana, as well as engages in wholesale electric and transmission transactions. It owns and operates steam coal generating stations in Wheatfield and Michigan City; combined cycle gas turbine in West Terre Haute; natural gas generating units in Wheatfield; hydro generating plants in Carroll County and White County; wind generating units in White County; and solar generating units in Sullivan County, Gibson County, Jasper County, and White County. The company was formerly known as NIPSCO Industries, Inc. and changed its name to NiSource Inc. in April 1999. NiSource Inc. was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana.

Latest Multi-Utilities and CMS Energy Corporation, NiSource Inc. Stock News

As of October 8, 2026, CMS Energy Corporation had a $20.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Multi-Utilities median of $22.9 million. CMS Energy Corporation’s stock is down 6.5% in 2026, up 2.6% in the previous five trading days and down 11.42% in the past year.

Currently, CMS Energy Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 19.7. CMS Energy Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $8.8 billion with a 11.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -0.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.872 per share for the current fiscal year. CMS Energy Corporation currently has a 3.5% dividend yield.

As of October 8, 2026, NiSource Inc. had a $19.4 billion market cap, putting it in the 86th percentile of all stocks. NiSource Inc.’s stock is down 2.6% in 2026, up 3.2% in the previous five trading days and down 7.02% in the past year.

Currently, NiSource Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 21.5. NiSource Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $6.9 billion with a 13.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 4.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.051 per share for the current fiscal year. NiSource Inc. currently has a 3.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare CMS Energy Corporation and NiSource Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at CMS Energy Corporation and NiSource Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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CMS Energy Corporation and NiSource Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
CMS Energy Corporation	CMS	C
NiSource Inc.	NI	C

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

CMS Energy Corporation has a Value Score of 41, which is Average. NiSource Inc. has a Value Score of 44, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither CMS Energy Corporation or NiSource Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if CMS Energy Corporation or NiSource Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

CMS Energy Corporation and NiSource Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
CMS Energy Corporation	CMS	D
NiSource Inc.	NI	D

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

CMS Energy Corporation has a Quality Score of 34, which is Weak. NiSource Inc. has a Quality Score of 39, which is Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither CMS Energy Corporation or NiSource Inc. has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if CMS Energy Corporation or NiSource Inc. is the better investment when it comes to quality.

CMS Energy Corporation and NiSource Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
CMS Energy Corporation	CMS	D
NiSource Inc.	NI	D

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

CMS Energy Corporation has a Momentum Score of 35, which is Weak. NiSource Inc. has a Momentum Score of 37, which is Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither CMS Energy Corporation or NiSource Inc. has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if CMS Energy Corporation or NiSource Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Other CMS Energy Corporation and NiSource Inc. Grades

In addition to Value, Momentum and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether CMS Energy Corporation and NiSource Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, CMS Energy Corporation or NiSource Inc. Stock?

Overall, CMS Energy Corporation stock has a Value Score of 41, Momentum Score of 35 and Quality Score of 34.

NiSource Inc. stock has a Value Score of 44, Momentum Score of 37 and Quality Score of 39.

Comparing CMS Energy Corporation and NiSource Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.