Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Given New $7.00 Price Target at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) had its target price trimmed by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $11.00 to $7.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on FLO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. 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 reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens set a $11.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $11.80.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of FLO stock opened at $8.38 on Monday. Flowers Foods has a twelve month low of $8.04 and a twelve month high of $20.23. The stock has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.94 and a 200 day moving average of $11.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. 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 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 247.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.87, for a total transaction of $2,271,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,022,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,113,270.60. The trade was 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. 11.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 859.6% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 4,026,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,809,000 after buying an additional 3,606,962 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 139.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Flowers Foods during the second quarter worth about $37,674,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,603,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,896,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,333,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732,003 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

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.