Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Given New $15.00 Price Target at Truist Financial

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) had its price objective trimmed by Truist Financial from $20.00 to $15.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on FLO. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Flowers Foods stock opened at $15.75 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.32. Flowers Foods has a 1-year low of $15.27 and a 1-year high of $23.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 15th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.30% and a return on equity of 17.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This is an increase from Flowers Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In related news, Director William Jameson Mcfadden bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.92 per share, with a total value of $50,760.00. Following 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Caldecot Chubb III bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.88 per share, with a total value of $50,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 45,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,133.68. This trade represents a 7.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $202,440 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 103.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,463 shares in the last quarter. 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.