Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the four research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.75.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FLO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on Flowers Foods in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of FLO stock traded up $0.31 on Thursday, reaching $25.43. The stock had a trading volume of 290,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,173,032. The stock has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.37. Flowers Foods has a 1 year low of $19.64 and a 1 year high of $29.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Flowers Foods will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey acquired 5,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired 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 $478,771.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total transaction of $845,294.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at $987,721.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,148,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,533,000 after purchasing an additional 84,001 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in Flowers Foods by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 4,583,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,171,000 after buying an additional 1,238,749 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Flowers Foods by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,690,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,069,000 after buying an additional 37,237 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,616,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,401,000 after acquiring an additional 18,730 shares during the period. Finally, Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. now owns 3,276,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,755,000 after acquiring an additional 125,761 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.