LVW Advisors LLC Makes New $272,000 Investment in National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG)

LVW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,149 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of National Grid in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,324,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in National Grid by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,462,898 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $265,185,000 after buying an additional 473,172 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in National Grid during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,706,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in National Grid by 5,134.3% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 330,706 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,651,000 after buying an additional 324,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in National Grid during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,849,000. 4.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NGG shares. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of National Grid from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded National Grid from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of National Grid in a research report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group downgraded National Grid from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on National Grid in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $80.40 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, National Grid currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.40.

National Grid Stock Down 0.4%

NGG traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.74. 536,940 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 740,667. National Grid plc has a fifty-two week low of $54.24 and a fifty-two week high of $74.82. The company has a market cap of $69.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $70.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.40.

National Grid Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.0345 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.7%. National Grid's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.08%.

National Grid Profile

National Grid plc transmits and distributes electricity and gas. It operates through UK Electricity Transmission, UK Electricity Distribution, UK Electricity System Operator, New England, New York, National Grid Ventures, and Other segments. The UK Electricity Transmission segment provides electricity transmission and construction work services in England and Wales.