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

Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during 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. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PNW shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Pinnacle West Capital from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp upgraded Pinnacle West Capital from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.28.

Institutional Trading of Pinnacle West Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PNW. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its position in Pinnacle West Capital by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 4,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Fortem Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 14,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pinnacle West Capital Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of PNW traded down $1.00 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.26. 590,895 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 980,620. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Pinnacle West Capital has a twelve month low of $70.73 and a twelve month high of $95.42. The stock has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.53.

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

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.