Pinnacle West Capital Corporation
PNW
reported first-quarter 2022 operating earnings per share (EPS) of 15 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 5 cents by 200%.
However, the bottom line decreased by 53.1% from the prior-year quarter’s earnings of 32 cents per share. The unfavorable decision on the general rate case was the primary driver for lower quarter-over-quarter earnings results.
Total Revenues
Total revenues of $783.5 million for the first quarter of 2022 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $716 million by 9.4%. The top line also improved by 12.5% from $696.5 million in the prior-year quarter.
Pinnacle West Capital Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Pinnacle West Capital Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart
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Pinnacle West Capital Corporation Quote
Operational Highlights
In the first quarter, total operating expenses were $729 million, up 12.3% from the year-ago quarter’s level due to an increase in the fuel and power purchase cost.
The operating income in the first quarter was $54.5 million, up 14.7% from the year-ago quarter’s reading of $47.5 million.
Net interest expenses were $65.4 million, up 5.7% from the year-ago quarter’s reading of $61.9 million.
Pinnacle West recorded robust 2.2% year-over-year customer growth and experienced stronger-than-projected sales growth of 4.4%.
Financial Highlights
Cash and cash equivalents were $14 million as of Mar 31, 2022 compared with $10 million as of Dec 31, 2021.
The long-term debt less current maturities was $7,226.6 million as of Mar 31, 2022, higher than $6,913.7 million as of Dec 31, 2021.
Net cash flow provided by the operating activities in the first three months of 2022 was $340.6 million compared with $202 million in the year-ago quarter.
Guidance
Pinnacle West reiterated 2022 EPS in the range of $3.90-$4.10. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 earnings of $4 per share is on par with the midpoint of the guided range.
The utility plans to invest $4.7 billion inthe 2022-2024 period to support customer growth, reliability and clean transition. Out of the total, PNW plans to invest $1.53 billion in 2022.
Pinnacle West reiterated the expectation of rate base growth at nearly 5-6% annually through 2024 from the 2020 levels.
Zacks Rank
Pinnacle West currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
.
Upcoming Releases
Dominion Energy
D
is scheduled to announce first-quarter 2022 results on May 5 before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.19 per share.
Dominion’s long-term earnings growth is projected at 6.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for D’s 2022 EPS suggests year-over-year growth of 6.7%.
Duke Energy
DUK
is set to release first-quarter 2022 results on May 9 before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPS is pegged at $1.37.
Duke Energy’s long-term earnings growth is projected at 6.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DUK’s 2022 EPS indicates year-over-year growth of 4.2%.
Algonquin Power & Utilities
AQN
is set to release first-quarter 2022 results on May 12 after market close. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPS is pegged at 23 cents.
Algonquin Power & Utilities’ long-term (three to five years) earnings growth is projected at 8.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AQN’s 2022 EPS indicates year-over-year growth of 5.6%.
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