Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) Short Interest Up 45.2% in January

Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,120,000 shares, a growth of 45.2% from the January 15th total of 1,460,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 754,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NOMD. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Nomad Foods from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Nomad Foods from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Nomad Foods from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Nomad Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

Nomad Foods Stock Down 1.4 %

NOMD stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $18.05. 415,752 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 613,113. Nomad Foods has a 1 year low of $15.43 and a 1 year high of $20.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.81. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Nomad Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a boost from Nomad Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. Nomad Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nomad Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Townsend & Associates Inc grew its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 3.6% in the third quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 1,539,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,976,000 after purchasing an additional 53,694 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 11.5% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,267,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,151,000 after purchasing an additional 130,792 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nomad Foods in the third quarter valued at $218,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 25.6% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,418,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,036,000 after purchasing an additional 289,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 53.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 2,682 shares in the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.