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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NGG shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of National Grid Transco in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.80.

National Grid Transco Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $87.29 and its 200-day 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The utilities provider reported $28.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $25.21. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.36 billion. Equities analysts forecast that National Grid Transco, PLC will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Grid Transco

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of National Grid Transco by 88.2% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in National Grid Transco during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in shares of National Grid Transco by 88.0% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in National Grid Transco during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of National Grid Transco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 4.68% of the company’s stock.

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.