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

Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.75.

A number of research analysts have commented on PNW shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Pinnacle West Capital from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Pinnacle West Capital from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Pinnacle West Capital from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Pinnacle West Capital to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

Pinnacle West Capital Trading Up 1.3%

PNW stock opened at $91.74 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $92.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.07. Pinnacle West Capital has a fifty-two week low of $74.45 and a fifty-two week high of $96.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.09). Pinnacle West Capital had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Pinnacle West Capital will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.895 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. Pinnacle West Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PNW. Norges Bank bought a new position in Pinnacle West Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $194,655,000. ATLAS Infrastructure Partners UK Ltd. lifted its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 230.5% during the first quarter. ATLAS Infrastructure Partners UK Ltd. now owns 2,793,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $266,085,000 after acquiring an additional 1,948,416 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,298,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $364,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045,788 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Pinnacle West Capital during the first quarter worth about $99,364,000. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in Pinnacle West Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $69,233,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.