National Grid question

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1

Hi all

I recently heard from a professional investor (by reputation, anyway) that share prices in the UK National Grid are “immune to market fluctuations”.

Any thoughts but especially is this true???

TIA

2

Nothing is immune to market fluctuations. but it is fair to says it tend to hold up better during a downturn than some other sectors such as finance. I have a decent sized position, it’s a good dividend payer.

The worst period in recent times was probably when Corbyn was opposition leader and talking about nationalising it

3

Thanks. I may have misheard. Maybe he meant the dividends are immune to market fluctuations? He definitely said sth about NG was immune to market fluctuations.

New to investing but I like NG. Seems solid, good ‘moat’.

Any advice about NG shares would be most welcome.

4

Perhaps it’s because NG is considered a defensive stock, likely to be less volatile than cyclical stocks, which are affected by business cycles or sentiment.

I have a small long term holding in NG.

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5

People need leccy
They are the sole player in the market.

There generally isnt a lot of new investment required, but equally there isn’t much opportunity for growth into new markets.

As long as NG ‘tick over’ and not be the cause of blackouts, nationalisation isn’t the issue.

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6

NG not only supplies electricity in the UK but also owns 40% of the gas distribution network in the UK and bought Western Power Distribution (which repairs and maintains power lines) in 2021. NG also provides electricity and gas in New York and Massachusetts. So NG is considered to be fairly robust if not exciting compared to some other stocks, @DomA

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7

Any concerns regarding their debt? Seems high

8

I don’t believe it is uncommon for utilities to carry high levels of debt due to the amount of infrastructure they have to invest in. Also they are heavily regulated in the UK.

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