Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) Short Interest Update

Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,500,000 shares, a decline of 14.2% from the December 15th total of 4,080,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PNW shares. Barclays downgraded Pinnacle West Capital from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp raised Pinnacle West Capital from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pinnacle West Capital presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.65.

Institutional Trading of Pinnacle West Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 261.2% during the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 92,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,178,000 after purchasing an additional 66,755 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,235,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 203,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,559,000 after purchasing an additional 22,696 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 139,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,336,000 after purchasing an additional 9,993 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 170.1% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 30,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,686,000 after purchasing an additional 19,089 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Pinnacle West Capital Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE PNW traded up $0.31 on Friday, hitting $86.75. 751,159 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 876,606. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $88.12 and a 200 day moving average of $86.85. Pinnacle West Capital has a twelve month low of $65.20 and a twelve month high of $95.42. The company has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Pinnacle West Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Pinnacle West Capital’s payout ratio is currently 67.80%.

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.