Advisors Asset Management Inc. Has $4.60 Million Stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 147.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 287,759 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 171,698 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned 0.14% of Flowers Foods worth $4,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 1,409.8% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 54,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $875,000 after purchasing an additional 51,107 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 48,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $777,000 after buying an additional 1,275 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 27.1% during the second quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 2,751 shares during the last quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 1.7% in the second quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC now owns 165,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,645,000 after buying an additional 2,846 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 24.9% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 21,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 4,281 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO stock opened at $10.84 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 0.26. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.34 and a 1 year high of $23.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.62.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 17.85% and a net margin of 4.30%.The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.020-1.08 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FLO. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Monday, August 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $13.67.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In other news, insider Cindy Cox sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $54,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $254,910. This represents a 17.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 350,000 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at $15,786,291.60. This represents a 22.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

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.