D.A. Davidson & CO. Makes New Investment in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 96,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $785,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. WealthCollab LLC boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 1,623.7% in the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,192 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Flowers Foods by 225.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Flowers Foods by 64.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 140.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 151.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,836 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of FLO opened at $7.77 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.80 and a 12 month high of $16.85. The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21 and a beta of 0.39.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 142.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $7.51 per share, with a total value of $37,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 194,180 shares in the company, valued at $1,458,291.80. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FLO has been the topic of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $9.60.

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.