Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO Stake Boosted by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 29.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,211,219 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 272,765 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.57% of Flowers Foods worth $9,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,272 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 64.4% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,256 shares of the company's stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 43,305 shares of the company's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 87,202 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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 12 month low of $6.80 and a 12 month high of $16.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04 and a beta of 0.39. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $7.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 1.38%.The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The firm'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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 142.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Flowers Foods from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised Flowers Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $9.60.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.51 per share, for a total transaction of $37,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 194,180 shares in the company, valued at $1,458,291.80. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 7.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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