Have Insiders Sold Pinnacle West Capital Shares Recently?

We wouldn't blame Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE:PNW) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Jacob Tetlow, a company insider, recently netted about US$860k selling shares at an average price of US$90.80. Probably the most concerning element of the whole transaction is that the disposal amounted to 79% of their entire holding.

View our latest analysis for Pinnacle West Capital

Pinnacle West Capital Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Jacob Tetlow is the biggest insider sale of Pinnacle West Capital shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$90.86, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was 79% of Jacob Tetlow's holding.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Pinnacle West Capital shares, than buying. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Does Pinnacle West Capital Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Pinnacle West Capital insiders own about US$25m worth of shares. That equates to 0.2% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Pinnacle West Capital Tell Us?

An insider sold Pinnacle West Capital shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But it is good to see that Pinnacle West Capital is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Pinnacle West Capital. Be aware that Pinnacle West Capital is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those makes us a bit uncomfortable...

Of course Pinnacle West Capital may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.