Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyWall Street Zen upgraded shares of Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.
A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Stephens set a $11.00 price objective on Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $12.60.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on FLO
Flowers Foods Trading Down 2.2%
Flowers Foods stock opened at $8.19 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.36. 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 has a 12 month low of $8.17 and a 12 month high of $20.23. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 0.36.
Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. Flowers Foods’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.
Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid 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 yield of 12.1%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 247.50%.
Insider Activity at Flowers Foods
In related news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.87, for a total value of $2,271,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,022,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,113,270.60. The trade was a 16.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 129.2% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $726,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 1,060.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 171,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,871,000 after buying an additional 157,106 shares during the period. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth $180,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth $144,000. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.
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.