Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Hits Expectations

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23, FiscalAI reports. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.30% and a return on equity of 17.85%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods updated its FY 2025 guidance to 1.020-1.08 EPS.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of FLO stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $11.90. 6,724,958 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,849,625. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.24. Flowers Foods has a 52-week low of $11.45 and a 52-week high of $23.04.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.3%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 107.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $15.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 350,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,231,380 shares in the company, valued at $15,786,291.60. This trade represents a 22.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cindy Cox sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $54,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $254,910. This trade represents a 17.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 6.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,245,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,727,000 after acquiring an additional 602,920 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,910,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,510,000 after purchasing an additional 127,669 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,121,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,908,000 after purchasing an additional 540,933 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 59.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,841,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,435,000 after buying an additional 687,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 64.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,531,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,180,000 after buying an additional 598,753 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.