Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) Short Interest Down 31.1% in March

Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,440,000 shares, a decrease of 31.1% from the February 28th total of 2,090,000 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 655,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Nomad Foods Price Performance

NOMD traded up $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.66. 213,179 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 619,625. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.95. Nomad Foods has a 1 year low of $15.43 and a 1 year high of $20.81.

Nomad Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This is an increase from Nomad Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. Nomad Foods’s payout ratio is presently 45.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NOMD. Barclays boosted their price objective on Nomad Foods from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on Nomad Foods from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th.

Institutional Trading of Nomad Foods

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Formidable Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Nomad Foods in the fourth quarter worth $700,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Nomad Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $763,000. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nomad Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $614,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 524,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,794,000 after acquiring an additional 66,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Nomad Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $9,003,000. 75.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nomad Foods

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.