Ok is there a mutter from the gutter going about today or what?
Shares are now consolidated, payout deadline gone, no official
news......??????

(scratches head......)

Any clues among us beautiful BB'ers this afternoon?

..Questor share tip: Planned growth in dividend lights up National Grid

By Garry White | Telegraph – 13 hours ago


......
Utilities (Santiago: UTILITIES.SN - news) shares are attractive for widows and orphans and yesterday's long-awaited dividend announcement from National Grid (LSE: NG.L - news) is what they wanted to hear.

National Grid 632p +18½ Questor says BUY

The returns investors can get from utility groups are regulated by the Government. Every five years the companies have to submit a plan that balances the needs of investment, customer bills and a return on capital invested in the business.

For National Grid, the next regulatory period starts in April 2013 and runs for eight years. The company has already submitted its plan to agree the price controls, which are attractively named RIIO-GD1.

The UK regulated business constitutes about 60pc of operating profit for National Grid.

This is the reason that the company has a one-year dividend policy. National Grid said it would raise its dividend by 4pc in the year to March 2013. The group's inflation expectations stand at about 3pc, so this represents real growth in the payment.

National Grid's dividend policy has been pretty generous. The group's previous policy was to increase the payout by 8pc a year until 2012. Obviously, there was likely to be some easing.

However, the new interim policy is encouraging because management is unlikely to declare an unsustainable one. If they did the shares would get hammered in 12 months' time when the new policy is announced, so they must be confident that real, above-inflation growth is achievable.

Underscoring this, Steve Holliday, chief executive, said yesterday: "Our dividend is an important part of our returns to shareholders."

The RIIO-GD1 submission seeks baseline total capital and operating investment of around £13.5bn over eight years, including £5.4bn of replacement expenditure. If the business plans were adopted in full, the net impact for customers would be an increase in real terms of £1 a year on a typical household bill. It is looking for a return on equity of 7.2pc, which is the figure investors should be interested in.

Away from regulatory issues, National Grid said the outlook for the current year to March was positive.

In the US, National Grid has recovered $240m (£152m) in deferred costs in New York approved last December.

City analysts have a mixed view on the announcement. Credit Suisse (NYSEArca: CSMA - news) , for example, argued yesterday that National Grid had "one of the best defensive growth profiles in the pan-European utilities sector. However, Investec (Frankfurt: A0J32R - news) said that, although the share price is factoring in a benign outcome for the UK price control reviews "we remain wary of what might develop as the reviews progress".

Questor downgraded the shares to a hold in October last year, when the shares were at 631½p. They have drifted since then and yesterday's rally has brought them back up to this level. Questor is reassured by the fact that the group plans real dividend growth in the current period and the yield is a very attractive 6.5pc in the next financial year.

Trading on a March 2013 earnings multiple of 11.6, the shares are once again a buy for income seekers, up from hold.

However, the regulatory review obviously provides a degree of risk.

..

Exane BNP Paribas reiterates Outperform TP 750.00.

Espirito Santo Execution Noble reiterates Neutra TP 629.00.

653.50 12 month high.

JP Morgan Cazenove Downgrades to Neutral but UPS its target price from 625.00 to 645.00 !!!

Quietly making new 12 months highs today.

UK may lose 6 percent of summer gas due to North Sea leak

(Reuters) - Britain could be facing as much as a 6 percent cut to gas supplies this summer due to the closure of three large fields following a leak found beneath Total's Elgin platform, National Grid said on Tuesday.

skin lets hope for a hot summer.

Quietly hitting new 12+ month highs today.

.

Morgan Stanley Ugrades to Overweight TP raised from 585p to 725p

Above pre-rights issue level.

Very nice steady long term uptrend now firmly in place from the 2010 low point.

National Grid files for new rates in Rhode Island

National Grid files for new rates in upstate NY

Post rights issue high hit today - 675p.

New high today - 681.5p 682.5p 683p . 684p

Results for the year ended 31 March 2012

Good performance in 2011/12

· Profit before tax1 up 5%
· Operating profit1 up 9% before currency movements, timing and major US storms2
· Continued UK outperformance
· Improved US returns - 2011 regulated return on equity up 50bp to 8.8%
· Earnings per share1 up 1% to 51.3p, up 16% excluding timing and major storm impacts
· Recommended full year dividend up 8% to 39.28p reflecting final year of current policy

Good strategic progress

· £3.4bn of capital investment, contributing to £1.6bn growth in regulated assets
· Submitted new 8 year UK investment plans, including over £31bn of forecast capital investment
· Agreed one year rollover price control for UK transmission activities
· Implemented new US operating model. $200m run rate cost reduction target achieved
· Submitted new rate filings in upstate New York and Rhode Island in April 2012
· Balance sheet benefitted from strong cash generation and small asset disposals. As a result, net debt up only £0.9bn to £19.6bn

Positive outlook for 2012/13

· Sustain focus on improving returns and securing appropriate regulatory outcomes
· Dividend growth of 4% targeted in new one year policy

Ex-divi next wed (30th May) 25.35p

Credit Suisse Reiterates it's Outperform Tp raised from 700 to 730p.

4 July 2012

National Grid plc

National Grid Completes Sale of New Hampshire Distribution Companies

National Grid today confirms that on 3 July 2012 it completed the sale of its New Hampshire electric and gas distribution businesses (Granite State Electric Company and Energy North Natural Gas Inc.) to Liberty Energy Utilities (New Hampshire) Corp., a subsidiary of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. The gross proceeds from the transaction totalled $309m, including working capital of $24m and will be used for general funding purposes.

12 month high (689.50p) within reach.