Lazard Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Nomad Foods Limited $NOMD

Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 315,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,029,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Endure Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Nomad Foods during the first quarter worth about $4,236,000. Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Nomad Foods by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 71,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,024,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,063,000 after acquiring an additional 172,215 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Nomad Foods by 7.0% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,782,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,127,000 after acquiring an additional 116,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Nomad Foods by 7.8% in the first quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,728,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,608,000 after acquiring an additional 124,389 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on NOMD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Nomad Foods in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on Nomad Foods from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Nomad Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Nomad Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Nomad Foods in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.25.

Insider Transactions at Nomad Foods

In other Nomad Foods news, CFO Ruben Baldew purchased 14,731 shares of Nomad Foods stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.71 per share, for a total transaction of $143,038.01. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 338,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,290,544.22. The trade was a 4.54% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ian G. H. Ashken purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.13 per share, for a total transaction of $913,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 116,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,067,443.08. This trade represents a 591.16% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 264,731 shares of company stock worth $2,524,538. Company insiders own 17.27% of the company’s stock.

Nomad Foods Stock Down 3.8%

Nomad Foods stock opened at $11.93 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.06. Nomad Foods Limited has a one year low of $8.99 and a one year high of $17.30.

Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.06. Nomad Foods had a net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $827.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $804.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. Nomad Foods’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Nomad Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.720-1.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nomad Foods Limited will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Nomad Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Nomad Foods’s payout ratio is currently 66.02%.

Nomad Foods Profile

Nomad Foods Limited is a leading frozen foods company headquartered in the United Kingdom, operating under the ticker symbol NOMD on the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s portfolio comprises well-known consumer brands such as Birds Eye, iglo, Findus, Goodfella’s and Aunt Bessie’s, covering a wide range of categories including vegetables, seafood, ready meals, pizzas and desserts. Nomad Foods focuses on delivering convenient, high-quality frozen products designed to meet evolving consumer preferences for taste, nutrition and ease of preparation.

Formed in 2015 through the acquisition of Iglo Group by investment firms Permira and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Nomad Foods was created with the strategy of building Europe’s largest frozen foods platform.