Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Short Interest Update

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,350,000 shares, a growth of 22.4% from the March 15th total of 10,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.9 days. Currently, 6.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE FLO traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $18.18. The stock had a trading volume of 2,083,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,520,773. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $18.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.30. Flowers Foods has a 1 year low of $17.33 and a 1 year high of $26.12.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 19.48%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is presently 82.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 31,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 32,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 112,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

About Flowers Foods

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.