MetLife Investment Management LLC Acquires 9,179 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 110,258 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,179 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $2,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FLO. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 171.8% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted 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 last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 104.2% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,556 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of Flowers Foods stock opened at $17.83 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.58 and its 200 day moving average is $20.15. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $17.33 and a one year high of $26.12.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 4.86%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.38%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 82.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FLO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.00.

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.