National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) Announces $1.19 Semi-annual Dividend

National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) declared a semi-annual dividend on Friday, November 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 24th will be given a dividend of 1.1899 per share by the utilities provider on Thursday, January 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 22nd.

National Grid has increased its dividend by an average of 0.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. National Grid has a dividend payout ratio of 104.7% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect National Grid to earn $4.46 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $4.69 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 105.2%.

National Grid Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE NGG opened at $64.42 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.65. National Grid has a 12 month low of $56.40 and a 12 month high of $74.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NGG. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of National Grid in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays initiated coverage on National Grid in a research note on Thursday, September 28th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, National Grid presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,176.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NGG. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of National Grid by 2.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,185,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $216,586,000 after acquiring an additional 85,586 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of National Grid by 6.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,878,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $113,875,000 after purchasing an additional 120,367 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of National Grid by 4.9% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,774,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,482,000 after buying an additional 82,420 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of National Grid by 10.6% during the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,123,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $75,616,000 after buying an additional 107,706 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of National Grid by 1.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 645,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,899,000 after buying an additional 6,440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

National Grid Company Profile

National Grid plc transmits and distributes electricity and gas. The company 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.