Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO Shares Purchased by Quantbot Technologies LP

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP significantly increased its holdings in Flowers Foods by 19,453.4%, acquiring 124,891 shares during the first quarter to reach a total of 125,533 shares valued at approximately $2.39 million.
• Flowers Foods stock has seen analyst ratings drop recently, with Jefferies Financial Group and Wall Street Zen both downgrading the stock to a "hold" rating and setting lower target prices, reflecting a consensus price target of $15.33.
• Company insiders have recently made significant stock purchases, with Directors buying 3,000 shares each at prices around $16.90, resulting in a reported increase in their respective holdings.

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 19,453.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,533 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 124,891 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP owned about 0.06% of Flowers Foods worth $2,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of FLO. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 36,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its position in Flowers Foods by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 112,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in Flowers Foods by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 32,179 shares of the company's stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 4,526 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director George E. Deese purchased 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.84 per share, for a total transaction of $101,040.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,004,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,764,031.60. This represents a 0.30% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Caldecot Chubb III purchased 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.88 per share, for a total transaction of $50,640.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 45,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $774,133.68. This trade represents a 7.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $202,440. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 2.2%

Flowers Foods stock traded up $0.3450 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.8350. The company had a trading volume of 3,895,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,668,568. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.27 and a 1 year high of $23.87. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.98 and a 200 day moving average of $17.30. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 0.32.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 15th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.30% and a return on equity of 17.85%. The company's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 95.19%.

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.