Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.90 Per Share

Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of 0.895 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This is a boost from Pinnacle West Capital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88.

Pinnacle West Capital has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Pinnacle West Capital has a payout ratio of 75.4% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Equities analysts expect Pinnacle West Capital to earn $4.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.58 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 76.7%.

Pinnacle West Capital Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE:PNW opened at $85.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Pinnacle West Capital has a twelve month low of $65.20 and a twelve month high of $91.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.26.

Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Pinnacle West Capital had a net margin of 12.65% and a return on equity of 9.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Pinnacle West Capital will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pinnacle West Capital news, EVP Robert Edgar Smith sold 4,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total value of $424,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $548,862.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan T. Flanagan purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $86.54 per share, for a total transaction of $43,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,905. This trade represents a 200.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert Edgar Smith sold 4,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total value of $424,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $548,862.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PNW shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pinnacle West Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Pinnacle West Capital in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Pinnacle West Capital from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.79.

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.