Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $7.01, but opened at $7.62. Flowers Foods shares last traded at $7.5290, with a volume of 2,513,794 shares traded.

The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 1.59%.The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 247.50%.

Key Stories Impacting Flowers Foods

Here are the key news stories impacting Flowers Foods this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Flowers Foods reported Q1 EPS of $0.29, slightly ahead of expectations, while revenue of $1.57 billion was roughly in line and sales rose 1.1% year over year. Management also raised FY2026 revenue guidance to $5.2 billion-$5.3 billion, suggesting modest top-line improvement. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company cut its quarterly dividend by 50%, which some analysts view as a bullish catalyst because it frees up cash for debt reduction and potentially future buybacks, improving Flowers Foods’ financial flexibility over time. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also declared a new quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, equal to a 7.1% annualized yield, which may support income-focused investors even after the cut. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Flowers Foods highlighted brand and product innovation, including a refresh of Nature’s Own with a simpler recipe, which could help support demand but is not an immediate earnings driver. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, EPS fell from $0.35 a year ago, and the company’s full-year EPS guidance of $0.80-$0.90 is only modestly ahead of analyst expectations, limiting enthusiasm. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $9.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total transaction of $1,678,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 813,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in Flowers Foods by 859.6% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 4,026,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,809,000 after buying an additional 3,606,962 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 139.1% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,295,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,499,194 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth $21,680,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,603,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,896,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,333,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732,003 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 8.0%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.30 and a 200-day moving average of $9.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

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.