Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO Shares Bought by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 13.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,371,965 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 521,670 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 2.07% of Flowers Foods worth $57,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Flowers Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 271.4% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 64.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 56.4% in the 2nd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.87, for a total value of $2,271,830.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,022,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,113,270.60. The trade was a 16.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of Flowers Foods stock opened at $8.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.74 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.61 and a 52 week high of $20.23. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.70.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.4%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 247.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens set a $11.00 target price on Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.60.

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.