Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,500,000 shares, a decline of 27.1% from the February 13th total of 4,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on PNW shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp upgraded Pinnacle West Capital from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays cut Pinnacle West Capital from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $93.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Pinnacle West Capital from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pinnacle West Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.28.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Pinnacle West Capital during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Pinnacle West Capital by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in Pinnacle West Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new position in Pinnacle West Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pinnacle West Capital Price Performance

PNW traded up $0.44 during trading on Monday, reaching $94.15. 938,646 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 978,333. Pinnacle West Capital has a 1 year low of $70.73 and a 1 year high of $95.42. The company has a market capitalization of $11.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $88.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. Pinnacle West Capital had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 9.60%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pinnacle West Capital will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

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.