Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $19.00 to $23.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Nomad Foods traded as high as $20.38 and last traded at $20.64, with a volume of 163627 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.90.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nomad Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Nomad Foods from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Nomad Foods from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nomad Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOMD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Nomad Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $27,386,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Nomad Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $11,967,000. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Nomad Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $9,003,000. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in Nomad Foods by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 8,376,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,552,000 after purchasing an additional 410,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Nomad Foods by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,265,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,227,000 after purchasing an additional 373,800 shares during the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nomad Foods Trading Up 4.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $17.37 and its 200-day moving average is $17.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Nomad Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a boost from Nomad Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Nomad Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.13%.

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.