Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Acquires New Stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 75,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 860.2% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 904.8% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,253 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 278.8% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,147 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 54.2% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of FLO stock opened at $11.86 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $13.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.38. The firm has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.27. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.65 and a 1 year high of $23.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 15th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 17.85% and a net margin of 4.30%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.10 EPS. Analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.4%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FLO. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $15.33.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In related news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 350,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.82, for a total transaction of $4,487,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,231,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,786,291.60. This trade represents a 22.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cindy Cox sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $54,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $254,910. This represents a 17.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

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.