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

Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,120,000 shares, a growth of 45.2% from the January 15th total of 1,460,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 754,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Nomad Foods Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE NOMD traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $18.38. 382,592 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 587,094. Nomad Foods has a 12 month low of $15.43 and a 12 month high of $20.05. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.79. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.79.

Nomad Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. This is a positive change from Nomad Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Nomad Foods's payout ratio is presently 51.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nomad Foods

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOMD. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 5.2% in the 4th 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 holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 7,708,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,346,000 after purchasing an additional 187,146 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Nomad Foods by 2.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $67,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24,775 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Nomad Foods by 12.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Nomad Foods from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Nomad Foods from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nomad Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Nomad Foods from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th.

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.