Insider Selling: Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) CEO Sells $1,678,270.00 in Stock

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) 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 value of $1,678,270.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 813,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,531,441.40. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ryals Mcmullian also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, January 2nd, Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.87, for a total transaction of $2,271,830.00.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

FLO opened at $8.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.86 and a 12-month high of $20.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59 and a beta of 0.39.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released 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. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 247.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FLO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Stephens set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $11.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FLO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,091,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,476,000 after purchasing an additional 736,624 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,997,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,654,000 after purchasing an additional 276,670 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 6.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,245,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,727,000 after buying an additional 602,920 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,968,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,697,000 after buying an additional 680,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,619,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,025,000 after buying an additional 901,087 shares during the period. 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.