Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 1,693 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Yousif Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,338 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,693 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $1,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Flowers Foods by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,742,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,993,000 after buying an additional 314,670 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth $276,000. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth $9,261,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Flowers Foods by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 174,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,596,000 after acquiring an additional 86,510 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $825,000. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:FLO opened at $15.87 on Wednesday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.84 and a 12-month high of $23.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.78.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 4.49%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Flowers Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.24%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 91.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, Director George E. Deese acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.84 per share, with a total value of $101,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,004,990 shares in the company, valued at $33,764,031.60. This trade represents a 0.30% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William Jameson Mcfadden purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.92 per share, for a total transaction of $50,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 532,476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,009,493.92. This represents a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 12,000 shares of company stock worth $202,440. Corporate insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.25.

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.