Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Key Points

• Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. by 91.6% during the first quarter, owning approximately 3.98% of the company after acquiring over 4 million shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Charles Schwab Investment Management and Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, also significantly increased their stakes in Flowers Foods during the same period.
• Flowers Foods has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.2475 per share, marking a dividend yield of 6.3% while maintaining a high payout ratio of 95.19%.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 91.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,392,872 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,011,428 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned about 3.98% of Flowers Foods worth $159,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,742,145 shares of the company's stock worth $35,993,000 after buying an additional 314,670 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 163.3% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 266,153 shares of the company's stock worth $5,041,000 after buying an additional 165,085 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $997,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 0.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 450,199 shares of the company's stock worth $8,558,000 after buying an additional 1,841 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 270.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,449,240 shares of the company's stock worth $141,610,000 after buying an additional 5,437,735 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO traded up $0.3450 on Friday, hitting $15.8350. 3,895,460 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,470,432. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $15.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.34. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 0.32. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $15.27 and a one year high of $23.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 15th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 17.85% and a net margin of 4.30%.The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is 95.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Jameson Mcfadden acquired 3,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.92 per share, with a total value of $50,760.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 532,476 shares in the company, valued at $9,009,493.92. The trade was a 0.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director George E. Deese acquired 6,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.84 per share, for a total transaction of $101,040.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 2,004,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,764,031.60. The trade was a 0.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $202,440 in the last quarter. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.33.

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.