Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Given New $8.00 Price Target at BNP Paribas Exane

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Exane cut its price target on Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and maintained an "underperform" rating, implying roughly a 1.4% downside from the prior close.
• Q4 results showed EPS of $0.22 beating the $0.16 estimate with revenue of $1.23 billion in line, while management set FY2026 guidance of $0.80–$0.90 and sell-side analysts expect about $1.18 for the current fiscal year.
• CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares at an average price of $8.03 (a 20.44% reduction in his holdings), and the stock was trading around $8.12 with a market cap of about $1.72 billion.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at BNP Paribas Exane from $10.00 to $8.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underperform" rating on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane's price objective indicates a potential downside of 1.42% from the stock's previous close.

FLO has been the subject of several other reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens set a $11.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $11.17.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO traded up $0.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $8.12. 2,486,112 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,051,120. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29 and a beta of 0.39. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $9.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.83. Flowers Foods has a 1 year low of $7.86 and a 1 year high of $18.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. Flowers Foods's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WealthCollab LLC grew 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 2,192 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 262.9% in 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 bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 176.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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