EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 1,116 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 22.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,824 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,116 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $95,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 168,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 3,105 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,518,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,082,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,361,000 after purchasing an additional 425,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE FLO traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $22.60. The company had a trading volume of 381,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,226,919. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.64 and a 1-year high of $26.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $22.42 and its 200-day moving average is $23.09.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 18.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Flowers Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 162.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FLO shares. StockNews.com raised Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 25th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson upped their price target on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Flowers Foods from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.20.

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.