Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Shares Acquired by Allworth Financial LP

Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 904.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,502 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,253 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $45,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 617.3% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 2,191.6% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 2,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FLO shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Flowers Foods stock opened at $15.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 0.33. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.31 and a fifty-two week high of $23.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.95.

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

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Flowers Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.