London, May 7, 2026, 10:16 BST
National Grid slipped 1.56% to 1,278 pence in London Thursday, ahead of its full-year report due next week. The UK power-network operator saw its shares move between 1,272.60p and 1,297.60p during the day, according to Investing.com data.
The clock is ticking for National Grid, with full-year results slated for May 14. For the year ending March 31, the company has flagged a roughly 1p reduction to underlying EPS, citing higher storm expenses and U.S. customer refund charges as the culprits.
Another broker shift grabbed attention. JPMorgan lowered its National Grid price target to 1,440p from 1,450p but stuck to an “overweight” call, Alliance News said. Analyst Pavan Mahbubani was behind the move, according to a dpa-AFX note, which linked the tweak to the grid operator’s recent trading update. Morningstar
It wasn’t a downgrade, just a small cut. That distinction is important for National Grid stock. Investors are still weighing the shares based on the company’s major investment plan and regulated returns, not just a single quarter’s earnings hiccup.
Morningstar’s Tancrede Fulop, CFA, stuck with his 1,440p fair value call following April’s pre-close update, describing National Grid as “moderately undervalued.” Fulop noted the one-off items would trim fiscal 2026 EPS by roughly 1.3%. The rest, though, lines up with earlier guidance—EPS growth still pegged at 6% to 8%. Morningstar
National Grid still sits among the big-cap income plays. Hargreaves Lansdown lists the company’s market cap near £63.51 billion, and the dividend yield clocks in at 3.66%. Shares, however, slipped—closing lower than the prior session and underperforming the FTSE 100, according to the platform.
The bigger picture remains the grid expansion. Back in March, National Grid laid out a five-year plan running through FY31, calling for at least £70 billion in total capex, targeting around 10% annual asset growth, and aiming for compound EPS growth of 8%-10% per year, starting from fiscal 2026. Chief Executive Zoë Yujnovich described the strategy as “disciplined execution, at scale.” Investegate
Regulation is the key factor here. National Grid has signed on to RIIO-T3, Ofgem’s price-control package laying out what it can earn—and what it must invest—across UK electricity transmission between April 2026 and March 2031. In short, that framework dictates the company’s returns for operating and upgrading crucial power lines.
Utilities have been in the spotlight, with United Utilities, SSE and several other UK names moving after United Utilities announced plans for an £800 million capital raise to boost infrastructure. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, called it “an unusual level of excitement” for a sector more often pegged as dull by the market. Sharecast
The risks here stand out. Utilities lean on debt to fund their networks, so when interest rates stay higher, financing gets pricier. Then there’s the threat of stricter regulators or hiccups on major projects, both of which can crimp profits. Hargreaves Lansdown’s Aarin Chiekrie points to the pressure of finishing big projects within the deadlines and budget, too.
National Grid shares are currently pinned between a modest short-term EPS headwind and a much larger, ongoing push in regulated investments. The next real test for investors lands on May 14, when Yujnovich and CFO Andy Agg will roll out full-year results.
