88,928 Shares in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO Purchased by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 88,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $968,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Flowers Foods by 151.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S increased its position in Flowers Foods by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 3,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $151,000. Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $120,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of FLO opened at $7.72 on Thursday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.66 and a 1-year high of $17.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.86 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.8%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 247.50%.

Insider Activity 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 value of $1,678,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.17.

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.