Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $6.00 and last traded at $5.9750, with a volume of 2910244 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Flowers Foods from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Zacks Research raised Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Stephens lowered their target price on Flowers Foods from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $7.00 target price on Flowers Foods in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $7.60.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 2.1%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 22.95 and a beta of 0.39.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 1.06%.The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.850 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is 192.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 64.4% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 43,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Flowers Foods by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 87,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

Flowers Foods, Inc is a U.S.-based producer and distributor of packaged bakery foods. The company makes breads, buns, rolls, snack cakes, tortillas and related baked goods for retail, foodservice and other commercial customers.

Its portfolio includes nationally recognized brands such as Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread, Wonder, Tastykake, Canyon Bakehouse and Mrs. Freshley’s. Flowers Foods also supplies baked goods through regional and local brands, serving grocery stores, mass merchants, club retailers, restaurants and foodservice distributors.

Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, Flowers Foods operates bakeries and distribution facilities across the United States.