Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Nomad Foods a consensus rating of "Hold" (2 sell, 3 buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $13.67.
• Several brokers recently cut ratings or price targets (Weiss and Zacks downgraded to sell/strong sell; Barclays, BTIG and Mizuho trimmed targets), reflecting a mixed and weakening near‑term outlook.
• Nomad pays a quarterly dividend of $0.17 (annualized 7.0% yield) and has heavy institutional ownership (~75.26%), with large stake increases from firms like Boston Partners.

Shares of Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the five analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.6667.

NOMD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Nomad Foods from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Nomad Foods from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of Nomad Foods from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded Nomad Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Nomad Foods from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nomad Foods

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Nomad Foods by 40.3% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,323,433 shares of the company's stock worth $243,276,000 after purchasing an additional 4,114,150 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Nomad Foods by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 7,330,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,546,000 after purchasing an additional 27,177 shares during the last quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Nomad Foods by 138.8% during the 3rd quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC now owns 3,441,900 shares of the company's stock worth $45,261,000 after buying an additional 2,000,400 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in shares of Nomad Foods by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 2,484,858 shares of the company's stock worth $31,086,000 after buying an additional 33,052 shares during the period. Finally, Ruffer LLP bought a new stake in shares of Nomad Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,823,000. Institutional investors own 75.26% of the company's stock.

Nomad Foods Stock Performance

Nomad Foods stock opened at $9.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Nomad Foods has a 12-month low of $9.54 and a 12-month high of $20.29.

Nomad Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. Nomad Foods's dividend payout ratio is 66.67%.

Nomad Foods Company Profile

Nomad Foods Limited is a leading frozen foods company headquartered in the United Kingdom, operating under the ticker symbol NOMD on the New York Stock Exchange. The company's portfolio comprises well-known consumer brands such as Birds Eye, iglo, Findus, Goodfella's and Aunt Bessie's, covering a wide range of categories including vegetables, seafood, ready meals, pizzas and desserts. Nomad Foods focuses on delivering convenient, high-quality frozen products designed to meet evolving consumer preferences for taste, nutrition and ease of preparation.

Formed in 2015 through the acquisition of Iglo Group by investment firms Permira and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Nomad Foods was created with the strategy of building Europe's largest frozen foods platform.

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