Legal & General Group Plc Buys New Shares in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 488,350 Flowers Foods shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $3.86 million and representing 0.23% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 75.45% of FLO.
• Flowers Foods reported weaker quarterly results, with EPS of $0.21 versus the $0.22 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.19 billion, down 4% year over year and below expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, equating to an annualized $0.50 payout and a high 7.9% yield. Analysts maintain a cautious outlook, with a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $7.60 price target.

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 488,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,858,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.23% of Flowers Foods as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the first quarter valued at $499,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Flowers Foods by 209.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 949,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,054,000 after buying an additional 642,942 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 976,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,562,000 after buying an additional 65,258 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 150,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,859,000 after buying an additional 14,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 744,714 shares of the company's stock worth $14,157,000 after acquiring an additional 81,066 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Flowers Foods stock opened at $6.30 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $7.63 and a 200-day moving average of $8.10. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.27 and a 1 year high of $15.02.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.01). Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 1.06%.The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. The firm's 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.9%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 192.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, CFO Diego Scaglione acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $7.51 per share, for a total transaction of $37,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 194,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,458,291.80. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FLO. Stephens lowered their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group set a $7.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Flowers Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $7.60.

Flowers Foods Profile

Flowers Foods, Inc is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States, offering a variety of fresh bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes and tortillas. Headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, the company operates an extensive network of bakeries and distribution centers that serve retail grocery chains, convenience stores, mass merchandisers and foodservice customers nationwide. Flowers Foods markets its products under well-known brands such as Nature's Own, Wonder, Dave's Killer Bread, Mrs.

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