Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Separately, DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of FLO opened at $22.84 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Flowers Foods has a 12 month low of $19.64 and a 12 month high of $29.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $22.94 and its 200-day moving average is $22.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.39.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Flowers Foods will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total transaction of $845,294.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,721.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.55 per share, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total transaction of $845,294.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $987,721.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 0.8% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 52,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 1.2% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 42,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Flowers Foods by 46.4% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc produces and markets packaged bakery food products in the United States. Its principal products include fresh breads, buns, rolls, snack items, bagels, English muffins, and tortillas, as well as frozen breads and rolls under the Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, Mrs.