Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $61.50 Million Stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 14.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,545,153 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 925,245 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $61,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FLO. WealthCollab LLC raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 1,623.7% in the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 2,192 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 225.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 176.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 151.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 140.7% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of FLO stock opened at $7.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $7.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.77. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.80 and a fifty-two week high of $16.85.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. Analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 142.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FLO shares. Stephens dropped their price objective on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to 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 related news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione purchased 5,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $7.51 per share, for a total transaction of $37,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 194,180 shares in the company, valued at $1,458,291.80. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 7.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Flowers Foods 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.