Brokerages Set Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) PT at $13.67

Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.6667.

Several research firms have issued reports on FLO. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.87, for a total value of $2,271,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,022,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,113,270.60. The trade was a 16.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 195,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,128,000 after purchasing an additional 58,227 shares during the period. Interchange Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $127,000. Finally, Certuity LLC bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $298,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of FLO stock opened at $11.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $10.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.32. Flowers Foods has a 12 month low of $9.93 and a 12 month high of $20.25.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 16.35% and a net margin of 3.78%.The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company’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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.7%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 107.61%.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

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.