Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $10.50, but opened at $10.77. Nomad Foods shares last traded at $10.6910, with a volume of 37,218 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Nomad Foods from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Nomad Foods in a report on Friday, August 14th. Zacks Research cut shares of Nomad Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Nomad Foods in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Nomad Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nomad Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.25.

Nomad Foods Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $11.60 and its 200 day moving average is $10.64.

Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.08. Nomad Foods had a net margin of 4.20% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The business had revenue of $825.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $825.02 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Nomad Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.604-1.779 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nomad Foods Limited will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Nomad Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. Nomad Foods’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nomad Foods

In related news, CEO Dominic Brisby purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.38 per share, with a total value of $619,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 726,794 shares in the company, valued at $8,997,709.72. This trade represents a 7.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Ruben Baldew acquired 28,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.85 per share, for a total transaction of $335,236.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 367,172 shares in the company, valued at $4,350,988.20. The trade was a 8.35% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 17.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOMD. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Nomad Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,147,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its position in Nomad Foods by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 1,675,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,958,000 after acquiring an additional 722,995 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nomad Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,465,000. Endure Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nomad Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $4,236,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 102.3% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 676,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,472,000 after purchasing an additional 341,964 shares in the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nomad Foods

Nomad Foods is a European food company focused on the frozen-food market. Its portfolio includes frozen fish, vegetables, meals, poultry products, potato products and ice cream, which it sells through retail and foodservice channels.

The company’s principal brands include Birds Eye in the United Kingdom and other markets, Findus in several European countries, and iglo in Germany, Austria and other parts of continental Europe. Its portfolio also includes Aunt Bessie’s and Goodfella’s, among other regional brands.

Nomad Foods was formed in 2014 and acquired the Iglo Group, including the Birds Eye, Findus and iglo businesses, in 2015.