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

Shares of Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $80.54.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Pinnacle West Capital in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 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, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pinnacle West Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Pinnacle West Capital Price Performance

NYSE PNW opened at $88.20 on Friday. Pinnacle West Capital has a twelve month low of $65.20 and a twelve month high of $91.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.48.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Pinnacle West Capital had a net margin of 12.65% and a return on equity of 9.75%. The business’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Pinnacle West Capital will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pinnacle West Capital

In related news, 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 transaction 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 approximately $548,862.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pinnacle West Capital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 97.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,851,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $960,425,000 after purchasing an additional 6,344,121 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 24.6% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,985,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $533,562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,368 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 72.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,719,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $502,139,000 after acquiring an additional 2,828,450 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Pinnacle West Capital in the first quarter valued at approximately $198,409,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,205,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,625,000 after buying an additional 29,767 shares in the last quarter. 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.