Ethic Inc. Purchases New Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Ethic Inc. acquired a new position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 87,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,141,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 860.2% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Flowers Foods by 64.4% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 4,746.6% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 2,753 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 0.9%

FLO stock opened at $10.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.53. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.34 and a 52-week high of $20.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 16.35% and a net margin of 3.78%.The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.020-1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 107.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $13.67.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States, offering a variety of fresh bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes and tortillas. Headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, the company operates an extensive network of bakeries and distribution centers that serve retail grocery chains, convenience stores, mass merchandisers and foodservice customers nationwide. Flowers Foods markets its products under well-known brands such as Nature’s Own, Wonder, Dave’s Killer Bread, Mrs.