Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 21.1 million shares valued at about $229.5 million. The position now represents roughly 9.99% of the company.
• Flowers Foods reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.22 per share, beating estimates by $0.06, while revenue came in at $1.23 billion and rose 11% year over year. The company also issued FY 2026 EPS guidance of $0.80 to $0.90.
• The stock has attracted mixed sentiment: the CEO sold 209,000 shares in April, and several analysts have recently cut ratings or price targets. MarketBeat says the stock’s consensus rating is “Reduce” with an average target price of $11.17.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,091,556 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 736,624 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.99% of Flowers Foods worth $229,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Flowers Foods during the first quarter worth about $499,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 209.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 949,688 shares of the company's stock worth $18,054,000 after buying an additional 642,942 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 976,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,562,000 after buying an additional 65,258 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 150,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,859,000 after buying an additional 14,476 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 744,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,157,000 after acquiring an additional 81,066 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Flowers Foods stock opened at $8.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 0.46. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.86 and a 12 month high of $17.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock's 50-day moving average is $8.65 and its 200-day moving average is $10.25.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 1.59%.The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.8%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 247.50%.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total value of $1,678,270.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 7.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FLO. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Stephens set a $11.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $11.17.

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.

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