Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens set a $11.00 price objective on Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $11.80.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

FLO stock opened at $8.24 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.71 and a 200-day moving average of $10.96. Flowers Foods has a 12-month low of $7.86 and a 12-month high of $20.23.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total transaction of $1,678,270.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 813,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FLO. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 846 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares during the period. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 12,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 2.5% during the third quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 40,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 64.4% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by 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.