JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 27.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 483,170 shares of the company’s stock after selling 185,226 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $6,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 225.6% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 64.4% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Flowers Foods in the third quarter valued at $58,000. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,022,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,113,270.60. This represents a 16.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Key Flowers Foods News

Here are the key news stories impacting Flowers Foods this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Supreme Court oral arguments are underway over an arbitration exemption for drivers who don’t cross state lines; implications for Flowers are uncertain because distribution and delivery labor rules could shift costs or contracting practices but no direct company-specific outcome yet. SCOTUS debates arbitration exemption for drivers who don’t cross state lines
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank cut its price target on FLO from $11 to $7 and moved to a “hold” rating, citing inflation pressures and demand risks — the downgrade signals analyst skepticism about near-term margin and volume recovery. Deutsche Bank Lowers FLO Price Target to $7 on Inflation and Demand Risks
• Negative Sentiment: Flowers announced the departure of Chief Growth Officer Terry Thomas and said it will dissolve the chief growth officer role as part of a leadership streamlining. Investors may view this as a cost-saving move but it raises questions about the company’s growth strategy and execution at a time when margin/demand headwinds are already a concern. FLOWERS FOODS ANNOUNCES DEPARTURE OF CHIEF GROWTH OFFICER TERRY THOMAS Flowers Foods nixes chief growth officer position

Flowers Foods Stock Down 2.6%

FLO opened at $8.16 on Wednesday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.97 and a 1 year high of $20.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39 and a beta of 0.36.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. Flowers Foods’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. Sell-side analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.1%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is presently 247.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FLO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Stephens set a $11.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $11.80.

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.