Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $11.65 and last traded at $11.8550, with a volume of 4048928 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $15.33.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 0.7%

The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.20 and a 200-day moving average of $15.31.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 15th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 17.85% and a net margin of 4.30%.The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. Flowers Foods’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is presently 95.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Flowers Foods news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 350,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.82, for a total value of $4,487,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,231,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,786,291.60. This trade represents a 22.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cindy Cox sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $54,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,994 shares in the company, valued at $254,910. This trade represents a 17.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,265,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Flowers Foods by 0.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 450,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,841 shares during the period. Amundi purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,646,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Flowers Foods by 270.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,449,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,610,000 after purchasing an additional 5,437,735 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Flowers Foods by 339.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 25,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 20,024 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.