Thomasville National Bank Sells 114,457 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Thomasville National Bank cut its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 589,283 shares of the company’s stock after selling 114,457 shares during the quarter. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $6,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FLO. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Flowers Foods in the first quarter valued at $499,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 209.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 949,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,054,000 after acquiring an additional 642,942 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 65,258 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 150,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 14,476 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 12.2% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 81,066 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Stephens set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total value of $1,678,270.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 813,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

NYSE FLO opened at $8.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.86 and a 12-month high of $18.53.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 247.50%.

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.