Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Takes Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Key Points

• Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking opened a new position in Flowers Foods, buying 148,582 shares worth about $1.62 million and taking a 0.07% stake in the company.
• Flowers Foods has seen mixed analyst sentiment: several firms have cut price targets or downgraded ratings, and the stock now carries a consensus “Reduce” rating with a $9.60 average price target.
• The company recently beat Q1 EPS estimates but missed on revenue, while also slashing its dividend by 50% as it focuses on debt reduction, cost control, and balance-sheet repair.

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 148,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,617,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. owned about 0.07% of Flowers Foods as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,371,965 shares of the company's stock worth $57,054,000 after purchasing an additional 521,670 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 736,624 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 139.1% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,295,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,060,000 after buying an additional 2,499,194 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,818,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 55.0% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 445,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,820,000 after buying an additional 158,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total transaction of $1,678,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 813,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 7.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Flowers Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $9.60.

Key Stories Impacting Flowers Foods

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

• Positive Sentiment: Flowers Foods beat Q1 earnings estimates, reporting $0.29 per share versus $0.28 expected, and revenue grew 1.1% year over year. The earnings beat helped offset concerns about slower volume trends. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management is emphasizing debt reduction and cost control, with leverage targeted below 3x by fiscal 2027. Investors appear encouraged that freeing up cash could support future buybacks or a re-rating of the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also launched a refreshed Nature’s Own brand and a “simpler recipe” marketing push, which could help demand over time but is not yet a near-term financial catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 profit declined from a year ago and the company cut its dividend by 50%, signaling pressure from higher costs and a shift to preserve cash for balance-sheet repair. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue came in slightly below estimates and volumes were soft, suggesting that pricing and acquisition-related growth are only partially offsetting weakness in the core bread business. Article Title

Flowers Foods Stock Up 13.7%

NYSE FLO opened at $7.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $8.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76 and a beta of 0.46. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.80 and a 52 week high of $17.24.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 15.75%. Flowers Foods's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is presently 247.50%.

Flowers Foods Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FLO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report).

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.