National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) Short Interest Down 29.5% in March

National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,030,000 shares, a drop of 29.5% from the February 28th total of 1,460,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 687,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of National Grid

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NGG. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in National Grid during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of National Grid by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 491 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of National Grid by 145.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of National Grid by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of National Grid in the third quarter valued at about $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.68% of the company’s stock.

National Grid Price Performance

Shares of National Grid stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $65.66. 422,583 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 613,875. The company has a market cap of $64.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.63. National Grid has a fifty-two week low of $54.24 and a fifty-two week high of $72.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.