Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC cut its stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 97.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,019 shares of the company's stock after selling 207,606 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC's holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 171.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,623 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,713 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 104.2% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,556 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

FLO stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $16.48. The company had a trading volume of 1,257,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,615,508. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.20. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.28 and a twelve month high of $23.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.49. The company has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.37.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This is a boost from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.01%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.25.

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.