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

Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,500,000 shares, a drop 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. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Pinnacle West Capital

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on PNW shares. KeyCorp raised shares of 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. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Pinnacle West Capital in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Pinnacle West Capital from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays cut Pinnacle West Capital from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.28.

Pinnacle West Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PNW traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.26. 590,895 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 980,620. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.66. Pinnacle West Capital has a twelve month low of $70.73 and a twelve month high of $95.42. The firm has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.53.

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