Flowers Foods Q1 EPS Estimate Decreased by Zacks Research

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for Flowers Foods in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $0.28 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.33. Zacks Research currently has a “Strong Sell” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Flowers Foods’ current full-year earnings is $1.18 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Flowers Foods’ Q2 2026 earnings at $0.25 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.20 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.17 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $0.90 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.32 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.24 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.20 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.19 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $0.96 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $0.88 EPS.

FLO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stephens set a $11.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.60.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of FLO opened at $9.25 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.89. 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 52 week low of $8.94 and a 52 week high of $20.23. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13 and a beta of 0.36.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 1st quarter worth $499,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 209.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 949,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,054,000 after acquiring an additional 642,942 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Flowers Foods by 7.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 976,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,562,000 after acquiring an additional 65,258 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Flowers Foods by 10.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 150,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,859,000 after acquiring an additional 14,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 12.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 744,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,157,000 after acquiring an additional 81,066 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.87, for a total transaction of $2,271,830.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,022,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,113,270.60. This represents a 16.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.7%. 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.