Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Stock: Insider Cindy Cox Sells 4,400 Shares

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) insider Cindy Cox sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.89, for a total transaction of $25,916.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,666.70. The trade was a 9.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO stock opened at $5.93 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $6.43 and a 200-day moving average of $7.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.40 and a 12 month high of $13.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.43.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 14.91%. Flowers Foods’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.850 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a $0.1250 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 192.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings raised Flowers Foods from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Stephens dropped their price objective 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. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Flowers Foods from $6.50 to $5.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Flowers Foods from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $6.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in Flowers Foods by 50.4% during the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 29,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 9,954 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 54.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327 shares in the last quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 338.2% during the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 115.0% during the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 4,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,514 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc (NYSE:FLO) is a U.S. food company that produces and markets packaged bakery products. Its portfolio includes breads, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries and other baked goods sold through grocery stores, mass retailers, foodservice providers and other retail channels.

The company’s brands include Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, Tastykake and Mrs. Freshley’s. Flowers Foods distributes its products throughout the United States through a combination of direct-store-delivery and warehouse distribution systems.

Flowers Foods traces its history to 1919, when it began as a bakery business in Thomasville, Georgia.