Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $8.70 and last traded at $8.75, with a volume of 960384 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Stephens set a $11.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $12.60.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 2.4%

The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.79.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 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 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 given a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 247.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,022,380 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WealthCollab LLC lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 1,623.7% during the 4th 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. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,898 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Flowers Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 225.6% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.