Thomasville National Bank Increases Stock Holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Thomasville National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 703,740 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 276,411 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank owned approximately 0.33% of Flowers Foods worth $9,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $2,265,000. Creative Planning grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 730,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,672,000 after purchasing an additional 137,131 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 267,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,281,000 after purchasing an additional 99,744 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 27.5% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 179,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,862,000 after purchasing an additional 38,653 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the second quarter worth about $1,830,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on FLO. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $13.67.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,231,380 shares in the company, valued at $15,786,291.60. This trade represents a 22.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of FLO stock opened at $10.93 on Friday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.34 and a twelve month high of $20.92. The stock has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.51 and a 200 day moving average of $13.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.23 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.020-1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.61%.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

Flowers Foods, Inc is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States, offering a variety of fresh bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes and tortillas. Headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, the company operates an extensive network of bakeries and distribution centers that serve retail grocery chains, convenience stores, mass merchandisers and foodservice customers nationwide. Flowers Foods markets its products under well-known brands such as Nature’s Own, Wonder, Dave’s Killer Bread, Mrs.