Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Given Average Recommendation of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Seven analysts give Flowers Foods a consensus "Reduce" rating (three sell, four hold) with an average 12‑month price target of about $11.17 and recent target cuts as low as $7–$8.
• CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares at $8.03 on April 1, trimming his stake by about 20.44%; insiders collectively own 11.57% of the company.
• Flowers declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2475 ($0.99 annualized), yielding 12.3% but with a very high dividend payout ratio of 247.5%, raising concerns about sustainability.

Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.1667.

Several equities analysts recently commented on FLO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Stephens set a $11.00 target price on Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total transaction of $1,678,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 813,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.57% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FLO. WealthCollab LLC increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 1,623.7% in the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,192 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 262.9% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,898 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 225.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 176.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 0.1%

Flowers Foods stock opened at $8.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $9.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.74. Flowers Foods has a twelve month low of $7.86 and a twelve month high of $18.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Flowers Foods 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 was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.3%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 247.50%.

About Flowers Foods

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.