Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 1,550,180 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 50.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,511,602 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,550,180 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.71% of Flowers Foods worth $12,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FLO. WealthCollab LLC increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 1,623.7% in the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,192 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 225.6% during the third 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. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 64.4% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 140.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Flowers Foods by 151.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $7.51 per share, for a total transaction of $37,550.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 194,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,458,291.80. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 7.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

NYSE:FLO opened at $7.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04 and a beta of 0.39. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.80 and a 52 week high of $16.85.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 1.38%.The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Flowers Foods from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $9.60.

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.