Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $77.95.

Several research firms have commented on PNW. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of 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 report on Thursday, June 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Pinnacle West Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays cut their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Pinnacle West Capital from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd.

Insider Activity at Pinnacle West Capital

In other Pinnacle West Capital news, EVP Robert Edgar Smith sold 4,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total transaction of $424,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $548,862.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pinnacle West Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $898,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital during the fourth quarter worth $977,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital during the 1st quarter valued at $1,102,000. Natixis purchased a new stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital during the 1st quarter valued at $4,064,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 116.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,507,809 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $467,521,000 after purchasing an additional 3,506,181 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company's stock.

Pinnacle West Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PNW traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $88.26. 572,452 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,114,007. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Pinnacle West Capital has a 1 year low of $65.20 and a 1 year high of $89.39. The company's 50-day moving average is $83.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.21. The company has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.50.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Pinnacle West Capital had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 12.65%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Pinnacle West Capital will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. Pinnacle West Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.69%.

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.