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

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Nomad Foods by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,100 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nomad Foods by 70.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nomad Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Nomad Foods by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nomad Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. 75.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nomad Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOMD traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $19.97. The company had a trading volume of 271,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 615,749. Nomad Foods has a 12-month low of $15.43 and a 12-month high of $20.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.97. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02 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.

Remove Ads

Nomad Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. Nomad Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOMD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target 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 objective on Nomad Foods from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company 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.