Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the five analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.6667.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FLO. Truist Financial cut their price objective 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.87, for a total value of $2,271,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,022,380 shares in the company, valued at $11,113,270.60. This trade represents a 16.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the first quarter worth about $499,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 209.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 949,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,054,000 after buying an additional 642,942 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 976,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,562,000 after buying an additional 65,258 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Flowers Foods by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 150,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after buying an additional 14,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 12.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 744,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,157,000 after buying an additional 81,066 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of Flowers Foods stock opened at $11.12 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.87. Flowers Foods has a 12-month low of $9.93 and a 12-month high of $20.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. Flowers Foods’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities analysts expect that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is presently 107.61%.

About Flowers Foods

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.