Zacks Research Lowers Earnings Estimates for Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Flowers Foods in a report issued on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $0.23 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.25. Zacks Research has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Flowers Foods’ current full-year earnings is $0.87 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Flowers Foods’ Q3 2026 earnings at $0.18 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.15 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $0.86 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.30 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.23 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.19 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.18 EPS and Q1 2028 earnings at $0.34 EPS.

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. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Stephens reduced their price objective on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $9.60.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 1.5%

FLO stock opened at $7.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Flowers Foods has a fifty-two week low of $6.80 and a fifty-two week high of $16.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $8.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.53.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FLO. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 859.6% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 4,026,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,809,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,962 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $21,680,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,603,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,896,607 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,333,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 73.6% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 3,683,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,068,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561,493 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total transaction of $1,678,270.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 813,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.51 per share, for a total transaction of $37,550.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 194,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,458,291.80. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 282.86%.

Key Flowers Foods News

Here are the key news stories impacting Flowers Foods this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Flowers Foods’ CFO, Diego Anthony Scaglione, bought 5,000 shares at an average price of $7.51, a sign of insider confidence that can support sentiment around the stock. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its Q1 2028 EPS estimate to $0.34 from $0.32, showing some longer-term optimism, though the firm kept a Hold rating.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also remains close to consensus earnings expectations for the current year, with analysts looking for about $0.87 per share in FY2026.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research trimmed several near- and medium-term earnings estimates, including FY2026 to $0.86 from $0.90, Q2 2026 to $0.23 from $0.25, Q3 2026 to $0.18 from $0.20, and Q4 2026 to $0.15 from $0.17, which may pressure shares.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional cuts were made to 2027 estimates, including Q1 2027 to $0.30 from $0.32, Q2 2027 to $0.23 from $0.24, Q3 2027 to $0.19 from $0.20, and Q4 2027 to $0.18 from $0.19, indicating softer expected profitability ahead.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

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.