Stephens Cuts Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Price Target to $6.00

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) had its target price trimmed by Stephens from $8.00 to $6.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $7.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Four equities 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $7.60.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE FLO opened at $7.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.77. Flowers Foods has a 52 week low of $6.80 and a 52 week high of $15.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.62 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $7.76 and its 200 day moving average is $8.31.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.850 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Flowers Foods will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $7.51 per share, with a total value of $37,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 194,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,458,291.80. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Flowers Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $499,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 209.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 949,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,054,000 after acquiring an additional 642,942 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 976,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,562,000 after buying an additional 65,258 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 10.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 150,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after acquiring an additional 14,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 744,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,157,000 after purchasing an additional 81,066 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.