Ethic Inc. Purchases Shares of 2,966 Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW)

Ethic Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 7.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 139,243 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,336,000 after purchasing an additional 9,993 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Pinnacle West Capital by 47.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 3,758 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,440 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Pinnacle West Capital by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,284 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Pinnacle West Capital by 200.6% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 6,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 4,107 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PNW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Pinnacle West Capital in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.75.

Pinnacle West Capital Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Pinnacle West Capital stock traded down $1.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $91.12. 930,765 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,124,451. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.71. Pinnacle West Capital Co. has a 52 week low of $74.45 and a 52 week high of $96.50. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $92.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.15. The company has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.45.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.09). Pinnacle West Capital had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 12.26%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Pinnacle West Capital Co. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Pinnacle West Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.17%.

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.