Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.1667.

Several research analysts have commented on FLO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research lowered Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Stephens set a $11.00 target price on Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total value of $1,678,270.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 813,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. The trade was a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FLO. WealthCollab LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,192 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 262.9% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Flowers Foods during the third quarter worth $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 225.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 176.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 5.7%

FLO opened at $7.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 0.46. Flowers Foods has a 52 week low of $7.22 and a 52 week high of $17.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $8.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.09. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 1.59%.The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Flowers Foods will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.6%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is presently 247.50%.

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.