Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $77.41.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PNW shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Pinnacle West Capital from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $81.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup initiated coverage on Pinnacle West Capital in a report on Monday, April 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price target for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Pinnacle West Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $83.50 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th.

Pinnacle West Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PNW opened at $86.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.13. Pinnacle West Capital has a 52 week low of $65.20 and a 52 week high of $89.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Pinnacle West Capital had a net margin of 12.65% and a return on equity of 9.73%. Pinnacle West Capital’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Pinnacle West Capital will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. Pinnacle West Capital’s payout ratio is currently 76.69%.

Insider Transactions at Pinnacle West Capital

In other Pinnacle West Capital news, EVP Robert Edgar Smith sold 4,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total value of $424,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $548,862.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pinnacle West Capital

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Pinnacle West Capital by 97.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,851,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $960,425,000 after buying an additional 6,344,121 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 72.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,719,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $502,139,000 after acquiring an additional 2,828,450 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the first quarter valued at approximately $198,409,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,914,000. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 24.6% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,985,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $533,562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,368 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Pinnacle West Capital

Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, through its subsidiary, provides retail and wholesale electric services primarily in the state of Arizona. The company engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity using coal, nuclear, gas, oil, and solar generating facilities. Its transmission facilities include overhead lines and underground lines; and distribution facilities consist of overhead lines and underground primary cables.