National Grid Transco (NYSE:NGG) Trading Down 8.3% – Should You Sell?

National Grid Transco, PLC (NYSE:NGG)’s share price dropped 8.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $80.02 and last traded at $80.1480. Approximately 1,098,681 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 1,127,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NGG. 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.80.

National Grid Transco Stock Down 8.3%

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

National Grid Transco (NYSE:NGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The utilities provider reported $28.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.24 by $25.21. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.36 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that National Grid Transco, PLC will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Milford Funds Ltd. acquired a new stake in National Grid Transco during the 4th quarter worth about $183,208,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of National Grid Transco by 47,478.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 892,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,041,000 after purchasing an additional 890,704 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of National Grid Transco by 21.5% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,596,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $342,017,000 after purchasing an additional 814,248 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of National Grid Transco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,372,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position 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 valued at $121,300,000 after purchasing an additional 672,050 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.68% of the company’s stock.

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.