Quantbot Technologies LP Increases Stock Position in Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW)

Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) by 326.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 62,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,212 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Pinnacle West Capital were worth $4,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PNW. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 377.9% during the 2nd 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. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Pinnacle West Capital by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pinnacle West Capital during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Pinnacle West Capital in the first quarter valued at $46,000. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on PNW. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com raised Pinnacle West Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Pinnacle West Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $83.50 in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five 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 $77.95.

Insider Activity at Pinnacle West Capital

In related news, EVP Robert Edgar Smith sold 4,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total value of $424,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Pinnacle West Capital Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of PNW stock opened at $90.70 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $85.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.34. Pinnacle West Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $65.20 and a fifty-two week high of $90.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.52.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.65% and a return on equity of 9.75%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Pinnacle West Capital Co. will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. Pinnacle West Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.69%.

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.