Short Interest in Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) Declines By 27.1%

Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,500,000 shares, a decrease of 27.1% from the February 13th total of 4,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,040,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Pinnacle West Capital Price Performance

NYSE:PNW traded up $1.95 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.77. 1,134,807 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 982,262. The company has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.53. Pinnacle West Capital has a 12 month low of $70.73 and a 12 month high of $95.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.60.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. Pinnacle West Capital had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 9.60%. Sell-side analysts expect that Pinnacle West Capital will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Pinnacle West Capital

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 261.2% during the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 92,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,178,000 after buying an additional 66,755 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,235,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 139,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,336,000 after acquiring an additional 9,993 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 47.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $995,000 after acquiring an additional 3,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 104.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 101,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,034,000 after acquiring an additional 52,095 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Pinnacle West Capital from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.28.

Pinnacle West Capital Company Profile

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.