Bernstein ups National Grid on US value, cuts Orsted, Fortum

Fortum Oyj

17/03/2025 10:11

** Bernstein upgrades National Grid NG.L to "outperform" from "market-perform", citing underappreciated value in its U.S. portfolio, while cutting Orsted ORSTED.CO and Fortum FORTUM.HE to "market-perform" on reduced risk/reward

** "Considering its growth, visibility and returns, we see no reason for the US business to trade at a discount," it says about National Grid

** For Orsted, Bernstein says it would like to "see a deeper discount as compensation for being more constructive", as 20% of its current construction program capacity in the U.S., a difficult market for offshore wind

** For Fortum, Bernstein says it would need to see "more substantive evidence" of future power demand growth to upgrade the stock

** In its Northern European coverage, Bernstein says it has "strong preference" for utilities exposed to regulated electricity networks, highlighting SSE SSE.L, National Grid and E.ON EONGn.DE (all "outperform")

** In renewables, it prefers RWE RWEG.DE over Orsted ORSTED.CO for its stronger balance sheet and smaller U.S. offshore exposure (both "market-perform")

 (Reporting by Vera Dvorakova)

 ((vera.dvorakova@thomsonreuters.com))