Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,440,000 shares, a decline of 31.1% from the February 28th total of 2,090,000 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 655,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Nomad Foods from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho lifted their target price on Nomad Foods from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Nomad Foods Stock Performance

Shares of Nomad Foods stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.66. 213,179 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 619,625. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.95. Nomad Foods has a 52-week low of $15.43 and a 52-week high of $20.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Nomad Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Nomad Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Nomad Foods’s payout ratio is 45.03%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOMD. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Nomad Foods during the fourth quarter worth $27,386,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Nomad Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $11,967,000. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nomad Foods in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,003,000. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Nomad Foods by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 8,376,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,552,000 after purchasing an additional 410,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Nomad Foods by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,265,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,227,000 after purchasing an additional 373,800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

Nomad Foods Company Profile

Nomad Foods Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes a range of frozen food products in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company offers frozen fish products, including fish fingers, coated fish, and natural fish; ready-to-cook vegetable products, such as peas and spinach; and frozen poultry and meat products comprising nuggets, grills, and burgers.