Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Shares Up 3.9% – Time to Buy?

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)’s share price rose 3.9% on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $5.94 and last traded at $5.9650. 2,720,945 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 6,523,595 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 24th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $5.00 target price on Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research downgraded Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Flowers Foods from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $6.80.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $6.59 and a 200 day moving average of $7.56. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.01). Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.850 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.1250 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is 192.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FLO. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 115.0% in the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 4,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 2,514 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 46.2% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 23,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 7,386 shares during the period. Altar Rock LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the second quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 266.3% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 44,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 32,203 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $121,000. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc (NYSE:FLO) is a U.S. food company that produces and markets packaged bakery products. Its portfolio includes breads, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries and other baked goods sold through grocery stores, mass retailers, foodservice providers and other retail channels.

The company’s brands include Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, Tastykake and Mrs. Freshley’s. Flowers Foods distributes its products throughout the United States through a combination of direct-store-delivery and warehouse distribution systems.

Flowers Foods traces its history to 1919, when it began as a bakery business in Thomasville, Georgia.