2,299,753 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO Purchased by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America purchased 2.3 million Flowers Foods shares worth approximately $18.2 million, acquiring a 1.08% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 75.45% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is bearish: Flowers Foods has an average “Reduce” rating, with a consensus price target of $7.60; recent firms lowered ratings or price targets, including a “strong sell” from Zacks Research.
• Flowers Foods reported weaker quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue estimates while revenue fell 4% year over year. The stock traded at $5.83, near its 52-week low, but offers an annualized dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding 8.6%.

Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,299,753 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,168,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.08% of Flowers Foods as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 2nd quarter worth $273,587,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 859.6% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 4,026,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,809,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,962 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $21,680,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $12,070,000. Finally, Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,830,000. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Monday. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $7.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $7.60.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE FLO opened at $5.83 on Friday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.72 and a 52 week high of $13.28. 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 $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40 and a beta of 0.39. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $6.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.73.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.01). Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.850 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.1250 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 192.31%.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

Flowers Foods, Inc is a U.S.-based producer and distributor of packaged bakery foods. The company makes breads, buns, rolls, snack cakes, tortillas and related baked goods for retail, foodservice and other commercial customers.

Its portfolio includes nationally recognized brands such as Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Tastykake, Canyon Bakehouse and Mrs. Freshley's. Flowers Foods also supplies baked goods through regional and local brands, serving grocery stores, mass merchants, club retailers, restaurants and foodservice distributors.

Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, Flowers Foods operates bakeries and distribution facilities across the United States.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.