Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.00.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:FLO opened at $23.43 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $24.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.91. Flowers Foods has a 12-month low of $19.64 and a 12-month high of $26.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a PEG ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 0.37.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 18.35%. Flowers Foods’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total value of $845,294.47. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at $987,721.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the company’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 owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at $987,721.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.55 per share, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 80.3% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.