Morgan Stanley Raises Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) Price Target to $83.00

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $78.00 to $83.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pinnacle West Capital from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays dropped 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Pinnacle West Capital from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the company from $74.00 to $83.50 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Pinnacle West Capital in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $80.54.

Pinnacle West Capital Stock Down 0.3 %

PNW stock opened at $88.20 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $87.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.66. Pinnacle West Capital has a fifty-two week low of $65.20 and a fifty-two week high of $91.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Insider Transactions at Pinnacle West Capital

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 transaction of $424,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $548,862.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pinnacle West Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Pinnacle West Capital by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, SFE Investment Counsel grew its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 18,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after buying an additional 245 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.