Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on FLO. Stephens set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $12.60.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 0.3%

FLO opened at $9.89 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.09. Flowers Foods has a 1-year low of $9.44 and a 1-year high of $20.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.71 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.0%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 247.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.87, for a total transaction of $2,271,830.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,022,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,113,270.60. This trade represents a 16.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at about $180,000. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $144,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $409,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $399,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,333,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732,003 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.