Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Stock Price Down 8.4% – Should You Sell?

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) fell 8.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $10.57 and last traded at $10.3960. 2,051,729 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 4,019,449 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.35.

Key Headlines Impacting Flowers Foods

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 reported EPS of $0.22 beat consensus (~$0.16) and reported revenue rose ~11% year?over?year (helped by a 53rd week and the Simple Mills acquisition). Flowers Foods Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Sales Advance 11%
• Positive Sentiment: Operating cash generation improved materially (cash from operations up year?over?year), which supports near?term liquidity despite balance sheet leverage. Flowers Foods (FLO) Stock Falls on Q4 2025 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: The 53rd week in the fiscal year and contributions from the Simple Mills acquisition lifted year?over?year sales — positive for top line but raises questions on sustainability of growth into FY?26. Flowers Foods Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Sales Advance 11%
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released the formal Q4 press release and investor slide deck and held a conference call/transcript for more detail; investors will be watching management commentary for margin drivers and timing of cost actions. Flowers Foods Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: FY?2026 EPS guidance of $0.80–$0.90 came in below the consensus (~$0.99), which is the primary reason for the selloff — investors are repricing expectations for earnings and valuation. Flowers Foods stock falls 5% as 2026 earnings guidance disappoints
• Negative Sentiment: Some data sources flagged GAAP operating loss and a quarter that included charges (Quiver flagged large net/operating losses and a negative GAAP EPS figure), increasing near?term margin concerns and adding to downside pressure. Flowers Foods (FLO) Stock Falls on Q4 2025 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: elevated volume and heavier selling following the release as investors focused on guidance and one?time items rather than the EPS beat. Flowers Foods reports Q4 CY2025 in line with expectations but stock drops

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FLO. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $13.67.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 3.78% and a return on equity of 16.35%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. Flowers Foods’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 23.1% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 730,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,672,000 after buying an additional 137,131 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 267,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,281,000 after acquiring an additional 99,744 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 179,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,862,000 after acquiring an additional 38,653 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 2nd quarter worth $1,830,000. Finally, Thomasville National Bank lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 64.7% during the third quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 703,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 276,411 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.