Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Sells 4,676 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lessened its stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 115,532 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,676 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $2,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP raised its position in Flowers Foods by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Flowers Foods by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Flowers Foods by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 57,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in Flowers Foods by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 11,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE FLO traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $24.93. The stock had a trading volume of 63,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,168,925. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.38. The firm has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.39. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.64 and a fifty-two week high of $29.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on FLO shares. StockNews.com upgraded Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. DA Davidson started coverage on Flowers Foods in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Flowers Foods news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey bought 5,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.55 per share, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Flowers Foods news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of Flowers Foods 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at $987,721.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey bought 5,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.55 per share, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 insiders.

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.