Thursday, 28 March 2013

National Grid's jump start to 2013.

 National Grid @ 766p, +15p (+2%)

After the disappointment of Aviva cutting its dividend in a kitchen sink move by the incoming CEO, its nice to receive a little good news for the income element of my portfolio with the announcement from National Grid today ( http://www.sharecast.com: National Grid earnings ahead of forecasts as new divi policy is revealed), that their dividend policy will continue to be progressive with an aim to grow at least in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI).
This new aim is due to apply from the 1st April 2013 for the foreseeable, but will not affect the payment of the current year's final dividend which the company expects will reflect the previous policy of 4% per annum.

The company also announced that they now expect current year earnings to finish "modestly" ahead of the company's previous expectations.

This follows the recent announcement by National Grid confirming the company's agreement with the regulator regarding pricing controls and capital investment plans.

Together, the new dividend policy and the agreement with Ofgem has removed quite a bit of uncertainty from   this most utilitarian of shares and the share price has started to motor as a result.

National Grid is my portfolio's second largest holding (February 2013: Portfolio update.), and its largest dividend contributor so this has been welcome news.
But it is also fair to suggest that, despite its attractions as a utility, and the little less uncertainty that these announcements have provided, the company is starting to look a little full in its valuation so I hope it can continue to deliver against current expectations.

Related posts and article links:
Posted by MAd at 14:34
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3 comments:

  1. Anonymous8 May 2013 at 19:26

    Hi MA

    How is it going ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous9 May 2013 at 16:51

    Hi MA

    I forgot to sign myself , I commented on this site to you a while back. I find navigating the site difficult and hard work. I did quite like to view how you were doing though.

    I have been buying more of late , having decided that the market is going to rise and that there are some attractive situations. I have nibbled at BG, GRG , BBY , KIE , FPG and MRW since we last spoke.

    Regards

    Fenchurch

    ReplyDelete
  3. MAd10 May 2013 at 13:54

    Hi Fen,
    good to hear from you again.
    I am a little behind on my updates but am looking to catch things up again.
    Sorry that my site seems unwieldy, I am still trying different things like labels, search boxes, and separate pages for a particular subject like portfolio updates but have been unable to find suitable site map, or forum widgets.
    I guess the biggest problem with blogger is its roots in just being a diary.
    Interesting choices all, and I've had a long look at BBY myself and wouldnt be averse to adding. Some overlaps with Kier which I hadnt considered but valuation wise also looks attractive particularly when a civil industry recovery has yet to be established.
    I'm also really tempted by Greggs with a very long term outlook.
    BG, well I still hold BG which has hit a speedbump but continues to have significant assets and projects that are late not discontinued.
    Similarly, Morrisons has its short term problems and I do have doubts over management and strategy whilst the family silver is being spent.
    I dont know FPG though.

    How has the rest of your portfolio been since we last spoke.

    Glad to hear you are still a player though.

    Best regards

    MA

    ReplyDelete

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