National Grid Transco, PLC (NYSE:NGG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

National Grid Transco, PLC (NYSE:NGG) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $85.50.

A number of research firms have commented on NGG. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research downgraded National Grid Transco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a report on Tuesday, April 21st.

National Grid Transco Price Performance

National Grid Transco stock opened at $83.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.76. National Grid Transco has a 1-year low of $67.51 and a 1-year high of $94.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $84.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.48.

National Grid Transco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $2.1738 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 533.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Grid Transco

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Pacific Financial increased its stake in National Grid Transco by 194,350.0% in the fourth quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 11,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 11,661 shares during the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of National Grid Transco by 112.4% in the 3rd quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 671,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,772,000 after purchasing an additional 355,149 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in National Grid Transco by 1.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,011,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $146,150,000 after acquiring an additional 36,984 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in National Grid Transco by 18.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 224,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,344,000 after acquiring an additional 35,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in National Grid Transco by 67.4% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,669,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $121,300,000 after acquiring an additional 672,050 shares during the last quarter. 4.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

National Grid Transco Company Profile

National Grid Transco (NYSE: NGG) is a utility company focused on the transmission and distribution of electricity and natural gas. The company builds, owns, operates and maintains large-scale energy infrastructure, including high-voltage electricity transmission lines, electricity distribution networks and high-pressure gas pipelines. Its core activities center on providing safe, reliable delivery of energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers while meeting regulatory requirements across its service territories.

Services provided by National Grid Transco encompass network operation and maintenance, system balancing and control, metering and connections, and capital investment in grid modernization and reliability projects.