Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Short Interest Update

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 27,404,372 shares, a growth of 13.3% from the March 31st total of 24,177,846 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,534,444 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.0 days. Currently, 14.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FLO traded down $0.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $8.72. 4,633,882 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,261,239. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $8.74 and its 200-day moving average is $10.37. Flowers Foods has a one year low of $7.86 and a one year high of $17.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 1.59%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Flowers Foods will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 247.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total transaction of $1,678,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. WealthCollab LLC lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 1,623.7% in the fourth quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 2,192 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 262.9% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,898 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Flowers Foods in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 225.6% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 176.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,958 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens set a $11.00 target price on Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $11.17.

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.