Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) Hits New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Weiss Ratings downgraded the stock from a hold (c-) rating to a sell (d+) rating. The company traded as low as $10.50 and last traded at $10.5250, with a volume of 2360235 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.69.

NOMD has been the topic of several other research reports. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on Nomad Foods from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded Nomad Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays decreased their price target on Nomad Foods from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Nomad Foods from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nomad Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Nomad Foods by 40.3% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,323,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,276,000 after acquiring an additional 4,114,150 shares in the last quarter. Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Nomad Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $26,823,000. Polaris Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nomad Foods by 138.8% in the 3rd quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC now owns 3,441,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000,400 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Nomad Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,603,000. Finally, Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Nomad Foods during the fourth quarter valued at about $11,147,000. Institutional investors own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

Nomad Foods Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.29 and its 200-day moving average is $12.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Nomad Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. Nomad Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Nomad Foods Company 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.