Kestra Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Key Points

• Kestra Investment Management LLC invested approximately $329,000 in Flowers Foods, acquiring 17,300 shares in the first quarter.
• Total institutional ownership of Flowers Foods is significant, with 75.45% of shares held by institutional investors.
• Flowers Foods announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2475, which yields 6.6% annually, with a payout ratio of 95.19%.

Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 17,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 91.6% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,392,872 shares of the company's stock worth $159,548,000 after buying an additional 4,011,428 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 270.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,449,240 shares of the company's stock worth $141,610,000 after buying an additional 5,437,735 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 5,612,523 shares of the company's stock worth $106,694,000 after buying an additional 159,460 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,782,856 shares of the company's stock worth $52,902,000 after buying an additional 307,614 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,756,534 shares of the company's stock worth $33,392,000 after buying an additional 14,389 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO stock traded down $0.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.76. 5,499,271 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,582,703. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.75 and a twelve month high of $23.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.92. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 0.29.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 15th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.30% and a return on equity of 17.85%. The firm 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 company posted $0.36 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is 95.19%.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, insider Cindy Cox sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 16,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $254,910. This represents a 17.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 11.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Monday, August 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.33.

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.