Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Receives $9.60 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $9.60.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.51 per share, with a total value of $37,550.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 194,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,458,291.80. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 7.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FLO. WealthCollab LLC lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 1,623.7% in the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 2,192 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Flowers Foods by 225.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 64.4% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 262.9% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 140.7% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,768 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of FLO stock opened at $7.55 on Wednesday. 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 52-week low of $6.80 and a 52-week high of $16.85. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $7.90 and its 200 day moving average is $8.88.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 1.38%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 142.86%.

About Flowers Foods

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.