Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) Price Target Raised to $76.00

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $70.00 to $76.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on PNW. StockNews.com downgraded Pinnacle West Capital from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on Pinnacle West Capital from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Pinnacle West Capital in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. They issued a neutral rating and a $69.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $76.00 to $69.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pinnacle West Capital currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $74.58.

Pinnacle West Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PNW opened at $78.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.48. Pinnacle West Capital has a one year low of $65.20 and a one year high of $86.03. The company’s fifty day moving average is $75.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $951.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $981.82 million. Pinnacle West Capital had a return on equity of 8.29% and a net margin of 11.09%. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.03) EPS. Analysts forecast that Pinnacle West Capital will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. Pinnacle West Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pinnacle West Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $569,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 177.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 29,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 18,589 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $174,000. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,779,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

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.