Wall Street Zen Upgrades Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) to Buy

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on FLO. Zacks Research cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Stephens set a $11.00 price objective on Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $12.60.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO stock opened at $8.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.38. Flowers Foods has a twelve month low of $8.17 and a twelve month high of $20.23.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In related news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the business’s 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. The trade was a 16.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 11.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. WealthCollab LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,192 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Flowers Foods during the second quarter worth $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 262.9% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 225.6% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.