Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Stock Price Up 5.9% – What’s Next?

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)’s share price rose 5.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $6.17 and last traded at $6.1540. 1,061,759 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 6,489,950 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $6.50 to $5.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.80.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 10.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.70 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $6.31 and a 200-day moving average of $7.38.

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

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.1250 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.8%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 192.31%.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In related news, insider Cindy Cox sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.89, for a total value of $25,916.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,666.70. This represents a 9.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in Flowers Foods by 94.9% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 7,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 3,699 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 200.5% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 435,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,599,000 after acquiring an additional 290,514 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 274.2% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 86,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 63,745 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 62.7% during the third quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 40,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 15,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the third quarter valued at $73,000. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc is a producer and marketer of packaged bakery foods in the United States. The company makes and distributes bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries, and other baked goods through a network of bakeries and distribution operations.

Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Nature’s Own, Wonder, Dave’s Killer Bread, Tastykake, Canyon Bakehouse, and Mrs. Freshley’s. Flowers Foods sells products through grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, foodservice distributors, convenience stores, and other retail channels.

Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, Flowers Foods serves customers across the United States.