Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Shares Acquired by Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 14.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,000 shares during the period. Flowers Foods makes up about 0.8% of Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. owned 0.08% of Flowers Foods worth $3,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Flowers Foods by 617.3% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,700 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,463 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Flowers Foods by 2,191.6% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,177 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,082 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Flowers Foods by 904.8% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,502 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,253 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO traded down $0.09 on Monday, hitting $15.33. 544,259 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,878,061. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.31 and a fifty-two week high of $23.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.91. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22 and a beta of 0.33.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 4.49%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This is a boost from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is 91.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in 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 reduced their price objective 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Jameson Mcfadden purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.92 per share, with a total value of $50,760.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 532,476 shares in the company, valued at $9,009,493.92. The trade was a 0.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director George E. Deese purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.84 per share, for a total transaction of $101,040.00. Following the transaction, 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 a total of 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $202,440 in the last 90 days. 11.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Flowers Foods Company 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.