Short Interest in Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) Decreases By 31.1%

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Nomad Foods from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nomad Foods

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Nomad Foods by 61.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Nomad Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 70.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,448 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nomad Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. 75.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nomad Foods Price Performance

NOMD traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.84. 383,388 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 621,652. Nomad Foods has a 1-year low of $15.43 and a 1-year high of $20.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.96.

Nomad Foods Increases Dividend

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

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.