Zacks Research Lowers Earnings Estimates for Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) – Research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Flowers Foods in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $0.23 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.25. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Flowers Foods’ current full-year earnings is $0.87 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Flowers Foods’ Q3 2026 earnings at $0.18 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.15 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $0.86 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.30 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.23 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.19 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.18 EPS and Q1 2028 earnings at $0.34 EPS.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on FLO. Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Stephens lowered their target price on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $9.60.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of FLO stock opened at $7.78 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.77. Flowers Foods has a fifty-two week low of $6.80 and a fifty-two week high of $16.85.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 282.86%.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total transaction of $1,678,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 813,380 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,441.40. The trade was a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.51 per share, with a total value of $37,550.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 194,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,458,291.80. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,091,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,476,000 after acquiring an additional 736,624 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,997,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,654,000 after acquiring an additional 276,670 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 6.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,245,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,727,000 after acquiring an additional 602,920 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,968,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,697,000 after acquiring an additional 680,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 14.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,545,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,497,000 after acquiring an additional 925,245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Flowers Foods

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

• Positive Sentiment: Flowers Foods’ CFO, Diego Anthony Scaglione, bought 5,000 shares at an average price of $7.51, a sign of insider confidence that can support sentiment around the stock. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its Q1 2028 EPS estimate to $0.34 from $0.32, showing some longer-term optimism, though the firm kept a Hold rating.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also remains close to consensus earnings expectations for the current year, with analysts looking for about $0.87 per share in FY2026.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research trimmed several near- and medium-term earnings estimates, including FY2026 to $0.86 from $0.90, Q2 2026 to $0.23 from $0.25, Q3 2026 to $0.18 from $0.20, and Q4 2026 to $0.15 from $0.17, which may pressure shares.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional cuts were made to 2027 estimates, including Q1 2027 to $0.30 from $0.32, Q2 2027 to $0.23 from $0.24, Q3 2027 to $0.19 from $0.20, and Q4 2027 to $0.18 from $0.19, indicating softer expected profitability ahead.

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.