Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Stock Price Breaks Below Fifty Day Moving Average Following Weak Earnings

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) shares crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $6.10 and traded as low as $5.93. Flowers Foods shares last traded at $5.9650, with a volume of 12,472,903 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 1.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.630-0.680 EPS.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.4%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 192.31%.

Latest Flowers Foods News

These are some of the FLO news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Operating cash flow increased 44.1% year over year to $78.3 million, while cash and cash equivalents rose to $72.2 million. These improvements were a partial offset to weaker earnings. Flowers Foods Q3 financial results
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter EPS was $0.10 versus analysts’ $0.15 estimate and $0.23 a year earlier. Revenue of $1.17 billion was slightly below expectations and declined 4.7% year over year; net income fell 63.6%. Flowers Foods misses Q3 estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Flowers Foods cut its FY2026 EPS guidance to $0.63–$0.68, below the $0.78 consensus estimate. Its revenue outlook of $5.0–$5.1 billion also falls short of the $5.1 billion consensus midpoint, adding to concerns about the company’s near-term performance. Flowers Foods cuts FY2026 outlook

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Flowers Foods from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on Flowers Foods from $6.50 to $5.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Research raised Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on Flowers Foods from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $6.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, insider Cindy Cox sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.89, for a total transaction of $25,916.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $241,666.70. The trade was a 9.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaGrep UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the third quarter worth $321,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Flowers Foods during the third quarter valued at $5,807,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the 3rd quarter worth about $94,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 803,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,815,000 after acquiring an additional 76,020 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.84.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

Flowers Foods, Inc. is a U.S. bakery company that produces and markets packaged breads, buns, rolls, snack cakes and other baked goods. Its products are sold under brands including Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread, Wonder, Tastykake, Canyon Bakehouse and Mrs. Freshley’s. Founded in 1919 in Thomasville, Georgia, the company has grown from a local bakery into a national producer of baked goods. Flowers Foods serves consumers across the United States through grocery stores and other retail channels, using a mix of direct-store delivery and warehouse distribution.