Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO Stake Trimmed by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

Key Points

• CWA Asset Management Group cut its Flowers Foods stake by 93.5% in the third quarter, selling 217,652 shares and retaining 15,198 shares valued at approximately $84,000.
• Flowers Foods reported weaker quarterly results, with revenue down 4% year over year to $1.19 billion and EPS of $0.21, missing analyst estimates. Analysts have predominantly rated the stock Hold or Sell, with a consensus price target of $6.80.
• The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, representing an annualized yield of about 8.1%, although its payout ratio is elevated at 192.31%.

CWA Asset Management Group LLC reduced its holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 93.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,198 shares of the company's stock after selling 217,652 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $84,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 7.6% in the first 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 raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 12,801 shares of the company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 129.2% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,457 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares during the period. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 37,728 shares of the company's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO opened at $6.15 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65 and a beta of 0.43. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.40 and a 12-month high of $12.86.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.01). Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.850 EPS. Research analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.1250 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.1%. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is presently 192.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Flowers Foods news, insider Cindy Cox sold 4,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.89, for a total value of $25,916.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,666.70. This represents a 9.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 7.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FLO shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $6.50 to $5.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Flowers Foods from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $6.80.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc is a producer and marketer of packaged bakery foods in the United States. The company makes and distributes bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries, and other baked goods through a network of bakeries and distribution operations.

Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Nature's Own, Wonder, Dave's Killer Bread, Tastykake, Canyon Bakehouse, and Mrs. Freshley's. Flowers Foods sells products through grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, foodservice distributors, convenience stores, and other retail channels.

Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, Flowers Foods serves customers across the United States.

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