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

Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,090,000 shares, a decline of 25.1% from the February 13th total of 2,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 697,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOMD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective 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 raised their target price on Nomad Foods from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Nomad Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th.

Nomad Foods Price Performance

Shares of NOMD opened at $19.83 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.92. Nomad Foods has a fifty-two week low of $15.43 and a fifty-two week high of $20.81. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.77.

Nomad Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Nomad Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Nomad Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nomad Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Nomad Foods by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 8,376,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,552,000 after acquiring an additional 410,455 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Nomad Foods by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 7,708,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,346,000 after purchasing an additional 187,146 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,176,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,077,000 after purchasing an additional 86,897 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Nomad Foods by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 4,044,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,866,000 after buying an additional 24,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Nomad Foods by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,322,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,968,000 after buying an additional 253,086 shares in the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nomad Foods

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.