MCF Advisors LLC Sells 155 Shares of Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW)

MCF Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pinnacle West Capital were worth $181,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Pinnacle West Capital by 97.5% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,851,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $960,425,000 after acquiring an additional 6,344,121 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,985,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $533,562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,368 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 72.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,719,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $502,139,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828,450 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in Pinnacle West Capital in the first quarter valued at approximately $198,409,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital by 3.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,159,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $88,596,000 after purchasing an additional 44,029 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pinnacle West Capital

In other news, EVP Robert Edgar Smith sold 4,950 shares of Pinnacle West Capital stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Pinnacle West Capital news, EVP Robert Edgar Smith sold 4,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total transaction of $424,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,397 shares in the company, valued at $548,862.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan T. Flanagan acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $86.54 per share, with a total value of $43,270.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,905. The trade was a 200.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Pinnacle West Capital Price Performance

NYSE:PNW traded down $1.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $88.20. The stock had a trading volume of 767,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,127,565. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Pinnacle West Capital Co. has a one year low of $65.20 and a one year high of $91.57.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Pinnacle West Capital had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 12.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Pinnacle West Capital Co. will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle West Capital Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.895 dividend. This is an increase from Pinnacle West Capital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Pinnacle West Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on PNW shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Pinnacle West Capital in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays reduced 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. 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.79.

Pinnacle West Capital 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.