Short Interest in Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) Expands By 16.9%

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on PNW shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays cut Pinnacle West Capital from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pinnacle West Capital presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pinnacle West Capital

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PNW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,180,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,202,116,000 after acquiring an additional 143,716 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,864,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $581,945,000 after purchasing an additional 37,768 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,404,718 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $567,394,000 after buying an additional 56,644 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,298,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $364,342,000 after buying an additional 1,045,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 5.7% during the third quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,899,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $256,882,000 after buying an additional 155,466 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

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 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. 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.

Pinnacle West Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.895 dividend. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. 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.