Cooke & Bieler LP Reduces Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Cooke & Bieler LP decreased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,502,203 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,185 shares during the quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $33,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new position in Flowers Foods in the third quarter valued at $30,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Flowers Foods in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 46.4% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of FLO traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.58. 1,594,300 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,062,492. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.31. The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.39. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.64 and a 1-year high of $29.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.42%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is 158.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FLO. DA Davidson began coverage on Flowers Foods in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.00.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total transaction of $845,294.47. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $987,721.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at $478,771.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total value of $845,294.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $987,721.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.49% of the company’s stock.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc produces and markets packaged bakery food products in the United States. Its principal products include fresh breads, buns, rolls, snack items, bagels, English muffins, and tortillas, as well as frozen breads and rolls under the Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, Mrs.