Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO Stock Holdings Reduced by Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC drastically cut its stake in Flowers Foods by 96.2%, selling 506,787 shares, leaving it with only 20,019 shares valued at $320,000.
• Several other institutional investors increased their positions in Flowers Foods, with notable increases including Hantz Financial Services Inc., which raised its stake by 4,746.6%.
• Flowers Foods reported a quarterly EPS of $0.30, beating estimates, but its revenue fell short of expectations at $1.24 billion, up 1.5% year-over-year.

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 96.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,019 shares of the company's stock after selling 506,787 shares during the period. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC's holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Flowers Foods by 103.8% in the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,932 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Flowers Foods by 860.2% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,978 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 904.8% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,502 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,253 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 4,746.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,811 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 278.8% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,147 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 350,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.82, for a total transaction of $4,487,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,231,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,786,291.60. The trade was a 22.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cindy Cox sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $54,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $254,910. The trade was a 17.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

FLO opened at $11.92 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $13.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 0.27. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.89 and a 12-month high of $23.04.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 15th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 17.85% and a net margin of 4.30%.The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. Flowers Foods's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.3%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 95.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Monday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $15.33.

About Flowers Foods

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.

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