Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO Shares Bought by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 144.8% in the first quarter, buying an additional 201,946 shares and bringing its holding to 341,394 shares worth about $2.78 million.
• Flowers Foods reported quarterly EPS of $0.29, slightly ahead of estimates, while revenue came in at $1.57 billion and rose 1.1% year over year. The company also issued FY 2026 EPS guidance of $0.80 to $0.90.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, annualizing to a 5.8% yield, but the payout ratio is high at 142.86%. Meanwhile, Wall Street sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $9.60.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 144.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 341,394 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 201,946 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned approximately 0.16% of Flowers Foods worth $2,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,091,556 shares of the company's stock worth $229,476,000 after purchasing an additional 736,624 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,997,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,654,000 after buying an additional 276,670 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 6.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,245,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,727,000 after buying an additional 602,920 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,968,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,697,000 after buying an additional 680,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,619,908 shares of the company's stock worth $72,025,000 after acquiring an additional 901,087 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $7.51 per share, with a total value of $37,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 194,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,458,291.80. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 7.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of FLO stock opened at $8.62 on Wednesday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.80 and a fifty-two week high of $16.85. The stock's 50-day moving average is $7.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 142.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FLO shares. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Stephens dropped their price target on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $9.60.

Flowers Foods Company 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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