Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,530,000 shares, an increase of 16.9% from the January 15th total of 3,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,170,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Pinnacle West Capital Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE PNW traded up $0.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $89.37. 1,003,110 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 986,817. Pinnacle West Capital has a 12 month low of $66.77 and a 12 month high of $95.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $10.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.57.

Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.895 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. Pinnacle West Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pinnacle West Capital

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 72,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,170,000 after purchasing an additional 19,829 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $1,114,000. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $614,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 31,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,708,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $251,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PNW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on 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. KeyCorp raised 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. Barclays cut Pinnacle West Capital from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Pinnacle West Capital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pinnacle West Capital presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.21.

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.