Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $7.60.

Several research firms have recently commented on FLO. Weiss Ratings upgraded Flowers Foods from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $7.00 target price on Flowers Foods in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on Flowers Foods from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 24th.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 1.8%

FLO opened at $6.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.77. Flowers Foods has a one year low of $6.10 and a one year high of $14.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $7.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.01.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.850 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Flowers Foods will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.1%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 192.31%.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the first quarter worth $499,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 209.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 949,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,054,000 after buying an additional 642,942 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 976,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,562,000 after acquiring an additional 65,258 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 150,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,859,000 after acquiring an additional 14,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 12.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 744,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,157,000 after purchasing an additional 81,066 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Flowers Foods

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.