Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Hits New 12-Month Low on Insider Selling

Key Points

• Flowers Foods' stock (NYSE:FLO) hit a new 12-month low of $12.62 following significant insider selling by CEO Ryals Mcmullian, who sold 350,000 shares, representing a 22.13% decrease in his ownership.
• Brokerage firms have downgraded Flowers Foods' price target, with Truist Financial lowering it to $15.00, maintaining a "hold" rating amidst a consensus rating of "hold" from three analysts.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2475, reflecting a 7.9% yield, despite experiencing a net margin of only 4.30% in its latest earnings report.

Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $12.63 and last traded at $12.62, with a volume of 247020 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.76.

Specifically, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 350,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.82, for a total value of $4,487,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,231,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,786,291.60. This trade represents a 22.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FLO. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.33.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 1.2%

The firm has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm's fifty day moving average is $15.09 and its 200 day moving average is $16.46.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 15th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.30% and a return on equity of 17.85%. Flowers Foods's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.9%. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is 95.19%.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 61.3% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,208 shares of the company's stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 6,537 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 113,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,819,000 after buying an additional 8,003 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 78.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 13,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 5,959 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $862,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its position in Flowers Foods by 60.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 110,480 shares of the company's stock worth $1,765,000 after purchasing an additional 41,780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company's stock.

About Flowers Foods

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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