Brokerages Set Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Price Target at $9.17

Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.00.

FLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Zacks Research raised Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of FLO opened at $7.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $7.78 and its 200 day moving average is $8.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Flowers Foods has a 12-month low of $6.80 and a 12-month high of $15.98.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 14.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.850 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Flowers Foods this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some institutional investors increased their positions in Flowers Foods during the second quarter, including BlackRock, which added more than 14.6 million shares. The CFO also purchased shares, providing limited signs of insider or institutional confidence. Flowers Foods Q2 Sales Fall 4% as Net Income Drops 30%
• Neutral Sentiment: An investment analysis argued that Flowers Foods’ valuation and underlying value may be more favorable than current investor sentiment suggests. However, the potential value case is competing with weak operating momentum and lowered earnings expectations. Flowers Foods: Where Sentiment and Value Part Ways
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue fell 4.0% year over year to approximately $1.19 billion, below the roughly $1.23 billion analyst consensus. EPS was $0.21, slightly below estimates, while earnings declined from $0.28 a year earlier. Pricing and mix gains of 1.8% were more than offset by a 5.8% decline in volume, and adjusted EBITDA fell 19.2%. Flowers Foods Posts Downbeat Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Management lowered fiscal 2026 expectations to approximately $5.07 billion–$5.14 billion in sales and adjusted EPS of $0.75–$0.85, below prior market expectations. The combination of declining bread volumes, weaker profitability and softer guidance is the primary reason FLO moved lower. Flowers Foods Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.51 per share, for a total transaction of $37,550.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 194,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,458,291.80. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the second quarter worth $273,587,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 859.6% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 4,026,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,809,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,962 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $18,168,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $21,680,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Flowers Foods by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,603,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,082,000 after buying an additional 1,896,607 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.