Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) Hits New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Weiss Ratings downgraded the stock from a hold (c-) rating to a sell (d+) rating. The company traded as low as $10.50 and last traded at $10.5250, with a volume of 2360235 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.69.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on NOMD. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of Nomad Foods from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Nomad Foods from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Nomad Foods from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Nomad Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOMD. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Nomad Foods by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 143,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nomad Foods by 81.3% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 656,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,904,000 after buying an additional 294,386 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 50.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 75,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 25,358 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Nomad Foods by 1.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 808,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,734,000 after acquiring an additional 8,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Nomad Foods by 261.9% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 285,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,846,000 after acquiring an additional 206,728 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

Nomad Foods Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.72.

Nomad Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. Nomad Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

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.