Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Director William Jameson Mcfadden Purchases 3,000 Shares

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Director William Jameson Mcfadden bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.92 per share, with a total value of $50,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 532,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,009,493.92. The trade was a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE:FLO traded up $0.54 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.02. 3,081,548 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,631,743. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.36. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.29 and a 52-week high of $23.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.37.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 4.86%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This is a boost from Flowers Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 617.3% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 2,191.6% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,082 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 904.8% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,253 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FLO shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.25.

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.