Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO Shares Acquired by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its Flowers Foods stake by 14% in the first quarter, adding 925,245 shares to own 7.55 million shares, or 3.56% of the company. Other major investors also expanded their positions, with institutional investors collectively holding 75.45% of shares.
• Flowers Foods reported quarterly EPS of $0.29, slightly beating estimates, while revenue rose 1.1% year over year to $1.57 billion. Shares opened at $7.01, near their 52-week low, and analysts maintain a consensus “Reduce” rating with a $9.60 target price.
• The company’s annualized dividend is $0.50 per share, yielding about 7.1%, but its 142.86% payout ratio indicates the dividend exceeds current earnings. CFO Diego Scaglione separately purchased 5,000 shares at an average price of $7.51.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 14.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,545,153 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 925,245 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 3.56% of Flowers Foods worth $61,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 859.6% during the fourth 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 acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,680,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,603,093 shares of the company's stock worth $50,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896,607 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,333,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 73.6% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 3,683,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

NYSE FLO opened at $7.01 on Friday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.80 and a 1 year high of $16.85. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 142.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $7.51 per share, for a total transaction of $37,550.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 194,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,458,291.80. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Flowers Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped 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 raised Flowers Foods from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $9.60.

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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