Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

NOMD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays cut their target price on Nomad Foods from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Nomad Foods from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Nomad Foods Stock Up 0.5 %

NOMD stock opened at $18.22 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 0.78. Nomad Foods has a fifty-two week low of $13.56 and a fifty-two week high of $20.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The business had revenue of $810.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $822.21 million. Nomad Foods had a net margin of 6.79% and a return on equity of 9.78%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nomad Foods will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nomad Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 10th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Nomad Foods’s payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nomad Foods

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Partners increased its stake in Nomad Foods by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,563,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,241,000 after buying an additional 1,356,159 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nomad Foods by 628.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 889,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,398,000 after acquiring an additional 767,366 shares during the period. Pale Fire Capital SE raised its holdings in Nomad Foods by 2,544.3% during the fourth quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 654,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,099,000 after purchasing an additional 630,072 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Nomad Foods in the first quarter valued at about $10,425,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Nomad Foods by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,179,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,881,000 after purchasing an additional 320,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

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.