Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO Shares Acquired 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 boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 19,453.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 125,533 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 124,891 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP owned approximately 0.06% of Flowers Foods worth $2,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of Flowers Foods stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.06. The stock had a trading volume of 955,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,462,604. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.26. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.06 and a fifty-two week high of $23.87.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 15th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 17.85% and a net margin of 4.30%.The company's revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is 95.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FLO. Wall Street Zen lowered Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.