Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,683 shares of the company’s stock after selling 144,042 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $1,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 103.8% in the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 860.2% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 64.4% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 56.4% during the 2nd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In related news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 350,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.82, for a total transaction of $4,487,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,231,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,786,291.60. This trade represents a 22.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of FLO stock opened at $11.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $11.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.98. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.34 and a 12 month high of $21.06.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 3.78% and a return on equity of 16.35%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.020-1.08 EPS. Analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.9%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 107.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $13.67.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

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.