National Grid (NYSE:NGG) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 725,662 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 17% from the previous session’s volume of 621,706 shares.The stock last traded at $67.94 and had previously closed at $69.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NGG. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of National Grid from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com raised National Grid from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded National Grid from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

National Grid Stock Down 4.9 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $64.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.58.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Grid

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NGG. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in National Grid in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,324,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of National Grid by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,462,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $265,185,000 after purchasing an additional 473,172 shares during the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in National Grid during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,706,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake in National Grid by 5,134.3% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 330,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,651,000 after buying an additional 324,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in National Grid in the fourth quarter worth $9,849,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.68% of the company’s stock.

About National Grid

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.