5 European Utility Stocks to Buy Now

 3. National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG)

Market Capitalization: $52.21 billion

National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) is a London, England-based electricity and natural gas utility company.

National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) stock offers an attractive forward dividend yield of over 4.5%. The yield translates into a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share.

On August 16, National Grid (NYSE:NGG) revealed that it had discovered strong supplies of green hydrogen and renewable gas for prospective use by New York and Massachusetts-based customers. This will help the company fulfill its objectives of having a 100% fossil-free gas network by the year 2050. According to National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG), a total of at least 33T BTUs will be accessible for the company in the following three years, which is more than twice the 15T BTUs required in 2025.

In a note issued to investors on June 24, Mark Freshney at Credit Suisse reiterated an Outperform rating on National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) stock and increased the target price from $72.60 to $74.10.

ClearBridge Investments shared its stance on National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) in its Q2 2022 investor letter. Here’s what the firm said:

“Defensive sectors — electric, gas and water — saw some profit taking globally after a strong start to the year, with National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) and SSE (OTCPK:SSEZF) in the U.K. the main individual detractors. Energy infrastructure, mostly in Canada, performed poorly on profit taking, as the strong demand for commodities, which has been driven by structural underinvestment and supply disruptions related to the war in Ukraine and which led to exceptional performance in the first quarter, was overpowered by concerns of how a global recession would impact demand.”

According to Insider Monkey’s proprietary data, 10 hedge funds held a stake in National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) as of the second quarter of 2022.