Analysts Issue Forecasts for Flowers Foods FY2027 Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research lowered its FY2027 EPS estimate for Flowers Foods to $0.90 from $0.96, while maintaining a Hold rating. The broader analyst consensus remains cautious, with a MarketBeat consensus rating of Reduce and an average price target of $9.60.
• Flowers Foods reported mixed recent results, posting $0.29 EPS for the quarter versus $0.28 expected, but revenue of $1.57 billion came in slightly below estimates. The company also guided FY2026 EPS to $0.80-$0.90.
• The company cut its dividend to a quarterly $0.125 payment, equal to a 6.4% annualized yield, though the payout ratio is very high at 282.86%. Meanwhile, insider activity was mixed, with the CFO buying shares and the CEO previously selling a large stake.

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of Flowers Foods in a report released on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will earn $0.90 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $0.96. Zacks Research currently has a "Hold" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Flowers Foods' current full-year earnings is $0.85 per share.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on FLO. Stephens cut their price target on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Flowers Foods from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $9.60.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Flowers Foods stock opened at $7.81 on Friday. Flowers Foods has a one year low of $6.80 and a one year high of $16.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock's 50-day moving average is $8.06 and its 200 day moving average is $9.51. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30 and a beta of 0.40.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 282.86%.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In other news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $7.51 per share, for a total transaction of $37,550.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 194,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,458,291.80. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total value of $1,678,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 813,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 7.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FLO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,091,556 shares of the company's stock valued at $229,476,000 after acquiring an additional 736,624 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Flowers Foods by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,997,655 shares of the company's stock worth $119,654,000 after buying an additional 276,670 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Flowers Foods by 6.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,245,714 shares of the company's stock worth $163,727,000 after buying an additional 602,920 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Flowers Foods by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,968,508 shares of the company's stock worth $86,697,000 after buying an additional 680,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Flowers Foods by 14.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,545,153 shares of the company's stock worth $61,497,000 after buying an additional 925,245 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Flowers Foods

Here are the key news stories impacting Flowers Foods this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Flowers Foods CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione bought 5,000 shares at $7.51, a sign of insider confidence that can support investor sentiment. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its Q1 2028 EPS estimate to $0.34 from $0.32, showing some longer-term optimism, but it kept a Hold rating.
• Neutral Sentiment: The analyst consensus for FY2026 remains near Flowers Foods’ own outlook, with expectations around $0.87 per share.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut FY2026 EPS to $0.86 from $0.90 and lowered near-term estimates for Q2 2026, Q3 2026, and Q4 2026, signaling softer expected earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: The firm also trimmed 2027 estimates across several quarters and lowered FY2027 EPS to $0.90 from $0.96, which may pressure shares further. Flowers Foods stock page

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.

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