Pinnacle West (PNW) To Post Q1 Earnings: Is A Beat In Store?

Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE:PNW) is scheduled to release first-quarter 2019 results on May 1, before the opening bell. In the last quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 35.29%.

What Does the Zacks Model Say?

Our proven model shows that Pinnacle West is likely to beat estimates as it has the right combination of two key ingredients. A stock needs to have a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Earnings ESP: The company has an Earnings ESP of +1.41%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Pinnacle West currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The combination of Pinnacle West’s Zacks Rank #2 and +1.41% ESP makes us reasonably confident of an earnings beat in the upcoming quarterly results.

We caution against Sell-rated stocks (#4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is witnessing negative estimate revisions.

Factors at Play

Pinnacle West anticipates Metro Phoenix housing market to expand faster than the national average on solid job and income growth. The company alsoexpects housing permitsto continue the upward trend in 2019. We expect these factors to positively impact the to-be-reported quarter’s results.

Steady improvement in economic conditions, positive customer growth and disciplined cost management will aid Pinnacle West to deliver solid first-quarter results.

Q1 Expectation

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the first-quarter earnings is pegged at 18 cents, indicating an improvement of 50% in the past 30 days.

Other Stocks to Consider

Investors can also consider some other stocks from the same sector which also have the right combination of elements, to post an earnings beat in the to-be-reported quarter.

ONE Gas, Inc (NYSE:OGS) has an Earnings ESP of +0.92% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is expected to release first-quarter 2019 results on Apr 29.

ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) has an Earnings ESP of +3.04% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to release first-quarter 2019 results on Apr 30.

Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) has an Earnings ESP of +0.46% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to release first-quarter 2019 results on May 2.

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