Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $505,000 Stake in Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE:PNW)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE:PNW) by 18.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,192 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Pinnacle West Capital were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PNW. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in Pinnacle West Capital in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Pinnacle West Capital in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in Pinnacle West Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in Pinnacle West Capital by 49.7% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY acquired a new position in Pinnacle West Capital in the first quarter valued at about $57,000. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pinnacle West Capital Stock Performance

PNW opened at $92.00 on Friday. Pinnacle West Capital Corporation has a 52-week low of $81.47 and a 52-week high of $96.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.25.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. Pinnacle West Capital’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pinnacle West Capital Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share 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 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Pinnacle West Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on PNW. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Pinnacle West Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Pinnacle West Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Pinnacle West Capital from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on Pinnacle West Capital from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.00.

Insider Transactions at Pinnacle West Capital

In other Pinnacle West Capital news, EVP Jacob Tetlow sold 6,496 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.37, for a total value of $600,035.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 56 shares in the company, valued at $5,172.72. This represents a 99.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.23% 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.