Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Stephens

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) had its target price reduced by Stephens from $6.00 to $5.50 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on FLO. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on Flowers Foods from $6.50 to $5.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Flowers Foods from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $6.70.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 5.6%

Shares of FLO stock opened at $7.09 on Monday. Flowers Foods has a 12-month low of $5.40 and a 12-month high of $12.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $6.15 and its 200 day moving average is $7.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 0.38.

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 company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 1.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.850 EPS. Research analysts expect that Flowers Foods will post 0.80 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.1250 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 192.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, insider Cindy Cox sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.89, for a total value of $25,916.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,666.70. This trade represents a 9.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FLO. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 115.0% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 4,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,514 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,859 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares during the period. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 232.5% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 3,020 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc is a producer and marketer of packaged bakery foods in the United States. The company makes and distributes bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries, and other baked goods through a network of bakeries and distribution operations.

Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Nature’s Own, Wonder, Dave’s Killer Bread, Tastykake, Canyon Bakehouse, and Mrs. Freshley’s. Flowers Foods sells products through grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, foodservice distributors, convenience stores, and other retail channels.

Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, Flowers Foods serves customers across the United States.