Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $9.1667.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $7.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were bought 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 $1,458,291.80. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 7.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FLO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the second quarter worth $273,587,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,091,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,476,000 after buying an additional 736,624 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,997,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,654,000 after buying an additional 276,670 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,245,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,727,000 after acquiring an additional 602,920 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,968,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,697,000 after acquiring an additional 680,412 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of FLO opened at $7.50 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $7.82 and a 200 day moving average of $8.56. The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44 and a beta of 0.40. Flowers Foods has a 12 month low of $6.80 and a 12 month high of $16.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

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

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. 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.