Polaris Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Nomad Foods Limited $NOMD

Polaris Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) by 138.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,441,900 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000,400 shares during the quarter. Nomad Foods accounts for approximately 3.0% of Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Polaris Capital Management LLC owned about 2.24% of Nomad Foods worth $45,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOMD. Boston Partners increased its stake in Nomad Foods by 40.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 14,323,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,276,000 after buying an additional 4,114,150 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Nomad Foods in the second quarter worth about $15,603,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in shares of Nomad Foods by 164.1% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,195,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,312,000 after purchasing an additional 742,813 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd raised its stake in Nomad Foods by 115.6% during the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,181,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,537,000 after purchasing an additional 633,650 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Nomad Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,617,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

Nomad Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOMD opened at $12.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Nomad Foods Limited has a 52 week low of $11.04 and a 52 week high of $20.81.

Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $881.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $760.75 million. Nomad Foods had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Nomad Foods Limited will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nomad Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. Nomad Foods’s payout ratio is 47.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NOMD shares. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Nomad Foods from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Nomad Foods in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nomad Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Nomad Foods in a report on Monday, November 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.00.

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.