Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.60.

Several research firms have recently commented on FLO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Stephens set a $11.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of FLO opened at $8.44 on Thursday. Flowers Foods has a 52-week low of $8.42 and a 52-week high of $20.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.45. The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 0.36.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.7%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is presently 247.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $11,113,270.60. This represents a 16.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,371,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,054,000 after acquiring an additional 521,670 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 23.1% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 730,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,672,000 after purchasing an additional 137,131 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 267,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,281,000 after buying an additional 99,744 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank increased its position in Flowers Foods by 64.7% during the third quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 703,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,184,000 after buying an additional 276,411 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Flowers Foods by 139.1% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,295,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,060,000 after buying an additional 2,499,194 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.