Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) Short Interest Down 25.1% in February

Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) was the target of a large decline in short interest during 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. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 697,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Formidable Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nomad Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $700,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Nomad Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $763,000. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Nomad Foods during the fourth quarter valued at about $614,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its position in Nomad Foods by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 524,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,794,000 after acquiring an additional 66,013 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Nomad Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $9,003,000. 75.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nomad Foods Price Performance

NOMD stock opened at $19.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.92. Nomad Foods has a 52-week low of $15.43 and a 52-week high of $20.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Nomad Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This is a boost from Nomad Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Nomad Foods’s payout ratio is 45.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Nomad Foods from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Nomad Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Nomad Foods from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

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.