West Family Investments Inc. Makes New Investment in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

West Family Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 8,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in Flowers Foods by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 4,583,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,171,000 after buying an additional 1,238,749 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,875,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,518,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,082,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,361,000 after buying an additional 425,988 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods during the third quarter worth approximately $9,078,000. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at $478,771.50. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Flowers Foods news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total value of $845,294.47. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,721.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 11.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of FLO stock traded down $0.11 on Friday, reaching $24.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,023,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,183,406. The business’s 50-day moving average is $23.38 and its 200 day moving average is $22.53. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $19.64 and a one year high of $29.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 43.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.37.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 2.42% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 158.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc produces and markets packaged bakery food products in the United States. Its principal products include fresh breads, buns, rolls, snack items, bagels, English muffins, and tortillas, as well as frozen breads and rolls under the Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, Mrs.