Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Expected to Post FY2024 Earnings of $1.23 Per Share

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) – Research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Flowers Foods in a research report issued on Thursday, April 18th. Zacks Research analyst V. Bagree now forecasts that the company will earn $1.23 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $1.24. The consensus estimate for Flowers Foods’ current full-year earnings is $1.25 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Flowers Foods’ Q4 2024 earnings at $0.22 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.36 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $1.37 EPS.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. DA Davidson started coverage on Flowers Foods in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.00.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of FLO stock opened at $24.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.38, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.39. Flowers Foods has a 1-year low of $19.64 and a 1-year high of $29.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.31.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 158.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.55 per share, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $478,771.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total transaction of $845,294.47. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at $987,721.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.55 per share, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $478,771.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 11.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 206.0% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,286,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $473,823,000 after acquiring an additional 11,637,370 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $38,880,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 4,583,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,749 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 73.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,383,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,321,000 after buying an additional 1,010,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 84.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,165,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,235,000 after buying an additional 988,809 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

Flowers Foods, Inc produces and markets packaged bakery food products in the United States. Its principal products include fresh breads, buns, rolls, snack items, bagels, English muffins, and tortillas, as well as frozen breads and rolls under the Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, Mrs.