Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) Hits New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Nomad Foods hit a new 52-week low — shares traded as low as $9.49 and last at $9.56, trading below its 50-day ($11.61) and 200-day ($12.15) moving averages.
• Analysts have cut targets and issued mixed ratings — several firms lowered price targets (BTIG to $15, Mizuho to $13, Barclays to $13) while Weiss and Zacks downgraded to sell/strong sell, leaving an average "Hold" rating and a consensus price target of $13.67.
• High dividend and strong institutional ownership — the company pays a $0.68 annual dividend (7.1% yield) with a 66.7% payout ratio, and roughly 75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors, many of whom have recently adjusted positions.

Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $9.49 and last traded at $9.5620, with a volume of 205097 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BTIG Research dropped their price target on Nomad Foods from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Nomad Foods from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Nomad Foods from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Nomad Foods from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Nomad Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.67.

Nomad Foods Trading Down 1.9%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $11.61 and a 200-day moving average of $12.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 0.74.

Nomad Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. Nomad Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nomad Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners lifted its position in Nomad Foods by 40.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,323,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,276,000 after acquiring an additional 4,114,150 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Nomad Foods by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 7,330,537 shares of the company's stock worth $124,546,000 after purchasing an additional 27,177 shares in the last quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,000,400 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Nomad Foods by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 2,484,858 shares of the company's stock worth $31,086,000 after purchasing an additional 33,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP bought a new position in shares of Nomad Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,823,000. 75.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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