Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO Shares Sold by Moran Wealth Management LLC

Moran Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 83,294 shares of the company’s stock after selling 97,190 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $1,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 5.7% in the third quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Flowers Foods by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 58,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. raised its position in Flowers Foods by 13.5% in the third quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. now owns 111,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,456,000 after purchasing an additional 13,235 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Flowers Foods in the third quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the third quarter worth about $1,141,000. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Flowers Foods stock opened at $10.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.96 and a 200-day moving average of $13.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.32. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.93 and a 52 week high of $20.51.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 3.78% and a return on equity of 16.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.020-1.08 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.2%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $11,113,270.60. This represents a 16.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lowered their target price 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $13.67.

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.