SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Stock Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 642.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,637 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 98,335 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.05% of Flowers Foods worth $2,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 18,254.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,019 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 2,008 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Flowers Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Flowers Foods by 171.8% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,623 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 329,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 3,294 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

FLO traded up $0.15 on Monday, reaching $20.14. The stock had a trading volume of 2,945,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,046,443. The business's 50-day moving average price is $20.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.04. The company has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.39. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.90 and a 12-month high of $26.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 19.41% and a net margin of 4.70%. Flowers Foods's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.77%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Flowers Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th.

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.