Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) Price Target Raised to $78.00 at Morgan Stanley

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $72.00 to $78.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Pinnacle West Capital in a research report on Monday, April 29th. They issued a neutral rating and a $78.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Pinnacle West Capital from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Pinnacle West Capital from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $74.00 to $83.50 in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Pinnacle West Capital from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Pinnacle West Capital from $81.00 to $78.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $77.95.

Pinnacle West Capital Price Performance

Pinnacle West Capital stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $87.06. The company had a trading volume of 444,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,130,642. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $81.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.58. Pinnacle West Capital has a 1-year low of $65.20 and a 1-year high of $89.39.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.45. Pinnacle West Capital had a net margin of 12.65% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pinnacle West Capital will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. Pinnacle West Capital's payout ratio is 76.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert Edgar Smith sold 4,950 shares of Pinnacle West Capital 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at $548,862.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PNW. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Pinnacle West Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 377.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 368 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Pinnacle West Capital during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Pinnacle West Capital during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 70.6% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 481 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company's stock.

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.