Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $11.40 and last traded at $11.4250, with a volume of 1369694 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $11.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $15.33.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 4.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 0.26. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $13.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 17.85% and a net margin of 4.30%.The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The firm’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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 107.61%.

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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,231,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,786,291.60. The trade was a 22.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cindy Cox sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $54,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $254,910. This represents a 17.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 270.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,449,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,610,000 after acquiring an additional 5,437,735 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 91.6% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,392,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,548,000 after purchasing an additional 4,011,428 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 139.1% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,295,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,499,194 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,674,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,726,000. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.