Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 0.800-0.900 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 0.990. The company issued revenue guidance of $5.2 billion-$5.3 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $5.2 billion.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on FLO. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $13.67.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

NYSE FLO traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $11.35. The stock had a trading volume of 7,253,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,150,364. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $10.99 and a 200 day moving average of $12.57. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.79. Flowers Foods has a 52-week low of $9.93 and a 52-week high of $20.23.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 16.35% and a net margin of 3.78%.Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 107.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.87, for a total transaction of $2,271,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,022,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,113,270.60. This trade represents a 16.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 31.5% in the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 3,565 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 24.9% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 21,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,281 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Flowers Foods by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 3,757 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 2,844 shares during the period. Finally, Ritter Alpha LP acquired a new position in Flowers Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $156,000. 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.