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

Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,550,000 shares, an increase of 40.9% from the April 30th total of 1,100,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 870,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Nomad Foods Price Performance

NYSE NOMD traded down $0.14 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.21. 944,713 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 669,311. Nomad Foods has a 1-year low of $15.43 and a 1-year high of $20.81. The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $18.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.04). Nomad Foods had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The company had revenue of $822.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nomad Foods will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

Nomad Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Nomad Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nomad Foods

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 11.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 10,209,283 shares of the company's stock worth $200,615,000 after buying an additional 1,019,957 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in Nomad Foods by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 8,442,222 shares of the company's stock worth $165,890,000 after acquiring an additional 66,060 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Nomad Foods by 2.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Nomad Foods by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,824,222 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,096,000 after purchasing an additional 254,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Nomad Foods by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,176,211 shares of the company's stock worth $70,077,000 after purchasing an additional 86,897 shares in the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Nomad Foods from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nomad Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Nomad Foods from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th.

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.