Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

Separately, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $24.00.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of FLO opened at $22.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.27. Flowers Foods has a fifty-two week low of $19.64 and a fifty-two week high of $29.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 39.00, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.39.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.42%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Flowers Foods will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In related news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total transaction of $845,294.47. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $987,721.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total value of $845,294.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,721.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.55 per share, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 11.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $5,018,000. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 472,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,486,000 after buying an additional 228,063 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 184.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 184,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,085,000 after buying an additional 119,501 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 10,660.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 272,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,037,000 after buying an additional 269,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 113.8% during the third quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 343,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,619,000 after acquiring an additional 182,806 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

Flowers Foods, Inc produces and markets packaged bakery food products in the United States. Its principal products include fresh breads, buns, rolls, snack items, bagels, English muffins, and tortillas, as well as frozen breads and rolls under the Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, Mrs.