Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) Short Interest Up 16.9% in January

Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,530,000 shares, an increase of 16.9% from the January 15th total of 3,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,170,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Pinnacle West Capital Price Performance

NYSE:PNW traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $89.37. 1,003,110 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 986,817. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.88. Pinnacle West Capital has a 1 year low of $66.77 and a 1 year high of $95.42. The company has a market cap of $10.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.57.

Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.895 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. Pinnacle West Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. 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. Barclays cut shares of Pinnacle West Capital from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of 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 note on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pinnacle West Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.21.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pinnacle West Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 661,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,108,000 after buying an additional 27,605 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 54,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,657,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 72,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,170,000 after acquiring an additional 19,829 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,114,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $614,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.