Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Upgraded to "Hold" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Flowers Foods from “strong sell” to “hold.” Overall, analysts remain cautious: MarketBeat reports a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $6.70 price target.
• Flowers Foods reported quarterly EPS of $0.21, below the $0.22 estimate, and revenue of $1.19 billion, below the $1.23 billion consensus; revenue fell 4% year over year.
• The stock opened at $6.42, within its 52-week range of $5.40–$12.14. The company’s fiscal 2026 EPS guidance is $0.75–$0.85.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. 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 note on Monday, November 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Flowers Foods from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $6.50 to $5.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $6.70.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FLO opened at $6.42 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $6.12 and a 200 day moving average of $7.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.38. Flowers Foods has a 52 week low of $5.40 and a 52 week high of $12.14.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The firm's revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.850 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Flowers Foods will post 0.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, insider Cindy Cox sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.89, for a total value of $25,916.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,666.70. This represents a 9.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.23% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 7.6% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.1% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 43,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 15.7% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 12,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,735 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 68.2% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,436 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,799 shares during the period. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 37,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,985 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

About Flowers Foods

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.

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