Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.60.

FLO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens set a $11.00 target price on Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 1.9%

FLO stock opened at $10.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.16 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.28. Flowers Foods has a 1-year low of $9.44 and a 1-year high of $20.23.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 1.59%.The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. Analysts expect that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.8%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is 247.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.87, for a total transaction of $2,271,830.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FLO. WealthCollab LLC raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 1,623.7% during the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,192 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 262.9% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,898 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 103.8% in the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.