Robert Edgar Smith Sells 4,950 Shares of Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) Stock

Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) EVP Robert Edgar Smith sold 4,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total value of $424,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $548,862.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Pinnacle West Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PNW opened at $86.07 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Pinnacle West Capital Co. has a 1 year low of $65.20 and a 1 year high of $89.39. The firm has a market cap of $9.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.50.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.45. Pinnacle West Capital had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 12.65%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pinnacle West Capital Co. will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pinnacle West Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 7.0% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 23,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,791,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,985,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $533,562,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,368 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Pinnacle West Capital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $214,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Pinnacle West Capital by 4.7% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on 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 boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pinnacle West Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Pinnacle West Capital in a research report on Monday, April 29th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Pinnacle West Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $74.00 to $83.50 in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.41.

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.