Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) Short Interest Down 12.2% in May

Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,800,000 shares, a drop of 12.2% from the April 30th total of 4,330,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,250,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Pinnacle West Capital Price Performance

NYSE:PNW traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $89.05. 781,701 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,118,931. Pinnacle West Capital has a one year low of $74.45 and a one year high of $96.50. The company has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $92.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.95 million. Pinnacle West Capital had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 9.60%. Pinnacle West Capital's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Pinnacle West Capital will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $0.895 dividend. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Pinnacle West Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on PNW. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Pinnacle West Capital in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pinnacle West Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $88.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Pinnacle West Capital in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pinnacle West Capital

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PNW. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,724 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,163,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 4,398 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 1.3% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,724 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 19.1% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 14,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.