Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Short Interest Up 13.3% in April

Key Points

• Short interest climbed 13.3% in April to 27.4 million shares (about 14.6% of the stock), leaving a short-interest ratio of roughly 6.0 days based on average volume.
• Flowers pays a high annualized dividend yield of about 10.9%, but the dividend payout ratio is an unsustainably high 247.5%, raising questions about coverage.
• Analyst sentiment is negative (average rating "Reduce" with a $11.17 target) while the stock trades near $9.06 (market cap ~$1.92B), and CEO Ryals McMullian sold 209,000 shares in early April.

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 27,404,372 shares, a growth of 13.3% from the March 31st total of 24,177,846 shares. Approximately 14.6% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,534,444 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.0 days.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE FLO opened at $9.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64 and a beta of 0.39. Flowers Foods has a one year low of $7.86 and a one year high of $17.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business's fifty day moving average is $8.74 and its 200-day moving average is $10.37.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Flowers Foods will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 247.50%.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 813,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. The trade was a 20.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 19.1% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,641 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,503 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.1% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 43,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the first quarter valued at $766,000. Praxis Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $272,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,256 shares of the company's stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Stephens set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $11.17.

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.

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