Short Interest in Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) Declines By 17.0%

Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,927,629 shares, a decrease of 17.0% from the February 26th total of 2,322,068 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,153,356 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Nomad Foods from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Nomad Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Nomad Foods from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Nomad Foods from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Nomad Foods from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nomad Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ruffer LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Nomad Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $26,823,000. Polaris Capital Management LLC increased its position in Nomad Foods by 138.8% in the 3rd quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC now owns 3,441,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000,400 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Nomad Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $15,603,000. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd purchased a new stake in Nomad Foods during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,147,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Nomad Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,979,000. 75.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nomad Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NOMD opened at $9.76 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.06. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 0.74. Nomad Foods has a 12-month low of $9.46 and a 12-month high of $20.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Nomad Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. Nomad Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

About Nomad Foods

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.