Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities cut its stake in Flowers Foods by 88.1% in Q4, selling 303,080 shares and leaving it with 40,877 shares valued at about $445,000.
• Flowers Foods pays a quarterly dividend that equates to a 12.1% yield, but the dividend payout ratio is an unsustainably high 247.5%, raising sustainability concerns.
• CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares on April 1 (a 20.44% reduction of his position), while analyst sentiment is negative — consensus rating "Reduce" with an average price target of $11.17 after several downgrades.

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 88.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,877 shares of the company's stock after selling 303,080 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FLO. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 139.1% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,295,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,499,194 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 73.6% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 3,683,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,068,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561,493 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter worth $16,726,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Flowers Foods by 76.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,706,486 shares of the company's stock worth $34,941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Flowers Foods by 382.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 935,708 shares of the company's stock worth $12,211,000 after purchasing an additional 741,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 1.7%

FLO stock opened at $8.20 on Tuesday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $7.86 and a one year high of $18.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.35 and a 200-day moving average of $10.71.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 813,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on FLO shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $11.17.

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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