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

Key Points

• Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) experienced a notable 29.7% increase in short interest, with a total of 2,050,000 shares shorted as of August 15th.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets for Nomad Foods; Barclays set a new target of $18.00 while Mizuho lowered theirs to $20.00, maintaining a "Buy" consensus rating with an average target price of $20.33.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.8%, with a payout ratio of 46.58%.

Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,050,000 shares, an increase of 29.7% from the July 31st total of 1,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 935,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 935,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Nomad Foods by 87.4% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Nomad Foods by 88.5% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 17,844 shares of the company's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 8,378 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 1,342.3% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 14,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 13,866 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nomad Foods in the second quarter valued at about $321,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 12.7% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 18,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.26% of the company's stock.

Nomad Foods Trading Down 0.6%

NOMD traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $14.14. 2,664,793 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,384,143. Nomad Foods has a one year low of $13.96 and a one year high of $20.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.77.

Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. Nomad Foods had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The firm had revenue of $879.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $762.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nomad Foods will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nomad Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Nomad Foods's payout ratio is currently 46.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on NOMD shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Nomad Foods from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Nomad Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.33.

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.