Insider Selling: Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) EVP Sells $424,710.00 in Stock

Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) EVP Robert Edgar Smith sold 4,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total transaction of $424,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $548,862.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Pinnacle West Capital Price Performance

NYSE PNW opened at $85.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.23. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $65.20 and a 52-week high of $89.39.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.45. Pinnacle West Capital had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 12.65%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Pinnacle West Capital’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pinnacle West Capital Co. will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle West Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. Pinnacle West Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.69%.

Institutional Trading of Pinnacle West Capital

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PNW. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 377.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. 91.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PNW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Pinnacle West Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $83.50 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $81.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Pinnacle West Capital in a research note on Monday, April 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Pinnacle West Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pinnacle West Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.41.

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.