Man Group plc Makes New Investment in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Man Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,497,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,830,000. Man Group plc owned 0.71% of Flowers Foods at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods during the first quarter valued at approximately $499,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Flowers Foods by 209.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 949,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,054,000 after acquiring an additional 642,942 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 7.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 976,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,562,000 after acquiring an additional 65,258 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 10.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 150,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $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 lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 12.2% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 81,066 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.51 per share, for a total transaction of $37,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 194,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,458,291.80. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 7.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Flowers Foods stock opened at $6.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $7.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.28. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.80 and a 52 week high of $15.14.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.01). Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 1.06%.The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. Flowers Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.850 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on FLO. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. 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, Zacks Research raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $7.60.

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.