Baird Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Pinnacle West Capital Corporation $PNW

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital Corporation by 37.9% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 9,509 shares to total 34,620 shares, valued at approximately $3.3 million.
• Several other institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Pinnacle West, with 91.51% of the stock now owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Pinnacle West Capital announced a quarterly dividend of $0.895, representing an annual yield of 4.0%, with the latest payment made on September 2nd.

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE:PNW - Free Report) by 37.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 9,509 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Pinnacle West Capital were worth $3,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,464,661 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,377,759,000 after buying an additional 283,752 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,435,065 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $206,420,000 after buying an additional 610,042 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,509,511 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $143,781,000 after buying an additional 118,796 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,146,185 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $97,162,000 after buying an additional 245,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,104,560 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $105,203,000 after buying an additional 110,674 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Pinnacle West Capital

In other news, EVP Jacob Tetlow sold 6,496 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.37, for a total transaction of $600,035.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 56 shares in the company, valued at $5,172.72. This trade represents a 99.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Pinnacle West Capital Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of PNW traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $87.83. 862,790 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,906. Pinnacle West Capital Corporation has a 52-week low of $81.47 and a 52-week high of $96.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.48. The firm has a market cap of $10.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 9.19 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.58. Pinnacle West Capital had a return on equity of 8.45% and a net margin of 10.96%.The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.76 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Pinnacle West Capital Corporation will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle West Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Pinnacle West Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PNW has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $98.00 target price (up previously from $96.00) on shares of Pinnacle West Capital in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $94.00 to $93.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 target price on Pinnacle West Capital and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.22.

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.