National Grid (LON:NG) Stock Price Up 0.5% - What's Next?

National Grid plc (LON:NG - Get Free Report) shares shot up 0.5% on Friday . The company traded as high as GBX 996 ($12.69) and last traded at GBX 994.60 ($12.67). 4,792,165 shares were traded during mid-day trading, The stock had previously closed at GBX 989.40 ($12.60).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NG. Berenberg Bank cut their price objective on shares of National Grid from GBX 1,150 ($14.65) to GBX 1,070 ($13.63) and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a GBX 1,200 ($15.28) target price on shares of National Grid in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "top pick" rating on shares of National Grid in a report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of GBX 1,181.25 ($15.05).

National Grid Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 161.24. The stock has a market capitalization of £48.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,804.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.25. The business's 50 day simple moving average is GBX 1,001.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 977.64.

National Grid Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a GBX 15.84 ($0.20) dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.61%. National Grid's payout ratio is 10,363.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Pettigrew bought 220,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 1,039 ($13.23) per share, for a total transaction of £2,285,800 ($2,911,476.25). Insiders acquired a total of 220,045 shares of company stock worth $228,625,144 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

National Grid Company 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.