Royal Bank of Canada Trims Stock Holdings in National Grid Transco, PLC $NGG

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its National Grid Transco position by 11% in the first quarter, selling 255,261 shares and retaining 2.06 million shares valued at approximately $174.1 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $85.50, despite one analyst upgrading it to “Buy.”
• National Grid Transco shares opened at $78.87, below the consensus target, while the utility recently paid a $2.1738-per-share dividend.

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its position in National Grid Transco, PLC (NYSE:NGG - Free Report) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,058,184 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 255,261 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.21% of National Grid Transco worth $174,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of National Grid Transco by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 318 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in National Grid Transco during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in National Grid Transco by 88.0% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 346 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in National Grid Transco during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in National Grid Transco in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of National Grid Transco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, National Grid Transco currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $85.50.

National Grid Transco Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE NGG opened at $78.87 on Thursday. National Grid Transco, PLC has a 12-month low of $67.51 and a 12-month high of $94.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.42 and a 200 day moving average of $85.29.

National Grid Transco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $2.1738 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 533.0%.

National Grid Transco 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.

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