Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $9.35 and last traded at $9.3640, with a volume of 579520 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on FLO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Stephens set a $11.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.60.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $10.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 0.36.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.0%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 247.50%.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.87, for a total value of $2,271,830.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,022,380 shares in the company, valued at $11,113,270.60. This trade represents a 16.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the third quarter worth about $30,000. WealthCollab LLC boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 1,623.7% during the fourth quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,192 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 225.6% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 64.4% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.