Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Trading Down 4.3% – Should You Sell?

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)’s stock price dropped 4.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $6.37 and last traded at $6.3950. Approximately 3,550,300 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 6,311,314 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on FLO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $7.60.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 2.3%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $7.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 1.06%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.850 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.9%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 192.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Flowers Foods news, CFO Diego Scaglione acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.51 per share, with a total value of $37,550.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 194,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,458,291.80. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 542.5% during the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 3,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,859 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 225.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 151.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,836 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

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.