Quest Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 27,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 46.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 57,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 28,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 14,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of FLO opened at $23.91 on Thursday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.64 and a 1 year high of $26.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.88. The stock has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 40.53, a PEG ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.37.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). Flowers Foods had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Flowers Foods from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.00.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

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

Flowers Foods Company Profile

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.