WBI Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC has made a new investment in Flowers Foods, acquiring 31,151 shares worth approximately $592,000 during the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in Flowers Foods, with MassMutual Private Wealth growing its stake by 617.3% during the same period.
• Flowers Foods recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2475 per share, yielding 6.9% annually, and plans to pay this dividend on September 19th.

WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 31,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $592,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased 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 buying an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 2,191.6% in the first 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 last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 904.8% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 63.1% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,446 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FLO. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.33.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of FLO opened at $14.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.20 and a 12 month high of $23.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.92.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 15th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.10 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Flowers Foods news, insider Cindy Cox sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $54,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,994 shares in the company, valued at $254,910. This trade represents a 17.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

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