Recently released: our 3 top income-focused stocks to consider buying in December [PREMIUM PICKS]

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Our monthly Ice Best Buys Now are designed to highlight our team’s three favourite, most timely Buys from our growing list of income-focused Ice recommendations, to help Fools build out their portfolios.

“Best Buys Now” Pick #1:

National Grid (LSE: NG.)

Data Centre electricity demand is forecast to double in four years, and electricity grids are one of the major bottlenecks of the energy transition. Meeting growing demand will require vast investments.
With £7 billion rights issue and disposal of non-core assets, National Grid sees room to invest £60 billion between 2025 and 2029, almost twice as much as its capex between 2020 and 2024.
A significant portion of the growth will stem from alleviating constraints in the domestic grid. Capital expenditures on the high-voltage transmission network are expected to more than triple, driving a 10% annual increase in the asset base between 2025 and 2029.
The company needs to rebase its dividend from 53.1p per share this year to 45.3p next year, but we will see higher EPS growth in the long run.
Since 2021, National Grid has reshaped its portfolio to focus on electricity. CEO John Pettigrew expects the UK economy to be increasingly dependent on electricity with the growth of data centres and AI, as well as the higher domestic uptake of things like electric vehicles and heat pumps.