BlackRock Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 34,631,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,587,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 0.16% of Flowers Foods as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Flowers Foods during the first quarter valued at approximately $499,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 209.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 949,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,054,000 after buying an additional 642,942 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 7.2% during 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 period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 150,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,859,000 after buying an additional 14,476 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $14,157,000 after buying an additional 81,066 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:FLO opened at $7.18 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $7.76 and its 200-day moving average is $8.31. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62 and a beta of 0.40. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.80 and a 52-week high of $15.14.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. The company’s revenue 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 anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FLO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $7.00 price objective on Flowers Foods in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $7.60.

Insider Activity

In other Flowers Foods news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,458,291.80. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

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.