National Grid Transco (NYSE:NGG) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Earnings Beat

National Grid Transco, PLC (NYSE:NGG) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. Approximately 2,118,322 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 92% from the previous session’s volume of 1,100,434 shares.The stock last traded at $87.6150 and had previously closed at $86.98.

The utilities provider reported $28.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $25.21. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.36 billion.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NGG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of National Grid Transco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Grid Transco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NGG. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of National Grid Transco during the first quarter valued at approximately $490,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of National Grid Transco by 79.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 35,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after buying an additional 15,873 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of National Grid Transco by 12.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 971 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in National Grid Transco by 11.1% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in National Grid Transco during the second quarter worth approximately $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.68% of the company’s stock.

National Grid Transco Trading Up 0.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.95.

About National Grid Transco

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.