LONDON, March 25, 2026, 12:36 GMT
National Grid climbed roughly 1.8% to 1,254 pence Wednesday, boosted by Bernstein Research’s price target hike and reaffirmed outperform rating on the utility. 1
This shift is drawing attention as investors try to gauge whether the company’s growth ambitions have already been factored into the valuation. Bernstein kept its bullish stance, but Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to neutral on Monday following its sharp rally. 2
The shares outpaced the broader market on Tuesday, climbing 1.73% compared with the FTSE 100’s 0.72% gain. Fast forward to Wednesday, and London stocks pushed higher once more, the FTSE 100 advancing 1.45% as European equities got a boost from renewed hopes for a Middle East ceasefire. 3
Bernstein’s Deepa Venkateswaran bumped her price target on National Grid up to 1,450 pence, up from 1,420. She argued that fixating on “short-term fluctuations” misses the bigger picture, pointing instead to the long-term resilience of National Grid and SSE. 4
Goldman’s Ajay Patel downgraded National Grid to neutral from buy, trimming his price target to 1,389 pence from 1,450. Despite steady growth and reliability, Patel noted the recent rally leaves more upside in other utilities. SSE was also downgraded by Goldman. 5
National Grid on March 2 rolled out fresh five-year targets, bumping cumulative capital spending to no less than £70 billion through FY31. The company now aims for about 10% annual asset growth, with underlying earnings-per-share growth guidance raised to 8%-10% starting from the FY26 baseline. National Grid also signed off on RIIO-T3, Ofgem’s five-year price control package for UK electricity transmission, covering April 2026 through March 2031. 6
Back then, Chief Executive Zoë Yujnovich called “modern, resilient networks” key to economic growth, framing the roadmap as “disciplined execution, at scale.” Now, Reuters reports the company is looking for underlying EPS growth of 13%-15% for FY27, with higher allowed revenue kicking in. 7
There was also a more modest update out Wednesday. National Grid and GridCARE plan to open up spare capacity in New York to big power users like data centres. Steve Smith, chief strategy officer at National Grid, called these “hidden megawatts” already on the grid the “fastest and least-expensive” way to boost capacity. 8
No wonder those peer comps won’t go away. Bernstein tags National Grid and SSE as the sturdy picks for the long haul. But Goldman isn’t buying the story—both names got downgraded on valuation. The takeaway: for UK utilities, the conversation’s no longer about spotting growth, but about what price investors are willing to cough up for it. 9
Valuation and funding could get tougher to ignore. National Grid points to regulatory calls, higher financing costs, and project risks as key threats. UK rate forecasts have grown more unpredictable, with the Middle East conflict rattling energy prices—conditions that don’t do capital-intensive utilities any favors. 10
Despite climbing on Wednesday, the shares remain under Goldman’s 1,389-pence target and also trail Bernstein’s 1,450-pence level. That suggests some potential upside still exists on paper, but the margin isn’t huge if the sector stumbles on execution, faces regulatory shifts, or gets dinged by rates. 11
