Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens set a $11.00 target price on Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.80.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of FLO opened at $8.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average is $9.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.92. Flowers Foods has a 52-week low of $7.86 and a 52-week high of $20.23.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. Analysts forecast that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In related news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 813,380 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,441.40. This represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. WealthCollab LLC grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 1,623.7% during the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 2,192 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 225.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Flowers Foods by 64.4% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Flowers Foods by 262.9% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,898 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.