Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 64,824 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its ownership in Flowers Foods, Inc. by 23.0% during the first quarter, owning 346,630 shares valued at approximately $6.59 million.
• Flowers Foods reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.35, which missed analysts' estimates of $0.38, alongside a revenue of $1.55 billion, down 1.4% year-over-year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.2475 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 6.09%, with a payout ratio of 91.67%.

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 23.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 346,630 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 64,824 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.16% of Flowers Foods worth $6,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 617.3% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,463 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 2,191.6% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 2,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 904.8% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,502 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 2,253 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $16.26. 2,147,205 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,644,764. The company has a 50-day moving average of $16.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.80. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05 and a beta of 0.33. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.27 and a twelve month high of $23.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 4.49%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Flowers Foods's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.09%. This is a positive change from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is presently 91.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Jameson Mcfadden acquired 3,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.92 per share, with a total value of $50,760.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 532,476 shares in the company, valued at $9,009,493.92. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director George E. Deese acquired 6,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $202,440 in the last ninety days. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th.

Flowers Foods 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.