National Grid(NGG) ZACKS·2025-04-17 17:00Core Viewpoint - National Grid (NGG) is positioned to benefit from systematic investments aimed at upgrading and expanding its infrastructure, driven by rising demand from new customer connections and its low-risk, high-quality asset profile, making it a strong investment option in the utility sector [1] Group 1: Earnings Growth Projections - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 and 2026 earnings per share (EPS) has increased by 0.21% and 0.58%, respectively, over the past 60 days [2] - National Grid's long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is projected at 2.34% [3] Group 2: Focus on Clean Energy - The company is committed to enabling the energy transition and aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, collaborating with partners to accelerate the development of a clean energy future [4] - Significant investments have been made in large-scale renewable energy projects, including wind and solar, particularly in the United States [4] Group 3: Demand from New Customers - National Grid is set to benefit from an additional 2.3 gigawatts of demand from new customer connections in its service region, including requests for transmission-scale data center connections [5] Group 4: Solvency - The time-to-interest earned ratio at the end of fiscal 2024 was 2.8, indicating the company's strong ability to meet future interest obligations [6] Group 5: Dividend Yield - National Grid has consistently increased shareholder value through dividends, with a current dividend yield of 2.84%, compared to the S&P 500 Composite's 1.66% [9] Group 6: Systematic Investments - The company plans to invest nearly $69 billion (£60 billion) across its service territory in the UK and the US over the next five years, with almost half allocated to energy system improvements in Massachusetts and New York [10] Group 7: Stock Performance - Over the past six months, NGG's stock has gained 6.5%, contrasting with a 4% decline in the industry [11]