Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Downgraded: Wall Street Zen cut Flowers Foods (FLO) from a "buy" to a "hold," and MarketBeat shows the stock's consensus as an average "Reduce" rating with an average target price of $11.17 after several recent analyst downgrades and lower price targets.
• Shares opened at $8.72 (down about 3.8%), trading near a 1‑year low of $7.86 versus a high of $17.67; the company has a $1.85 billion market cap, reported quarterly EPS of $0.22 beating estimates with revenue up 11%, and set FY2026 guidance of $0.80–$0.90 (consensus ~0.86).
• Insider sale: CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares on April 1 for roughly $1.68 million, reducing his position by 20.44%, while insiders own 11.57% and institutional investors hold about 75.45% of the stock.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

FLO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Stephens set a $11.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $11.17.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of NYSE FLO opened at $8.72 on Friday. Flowers Foods has a 1 year low of $7.86 and a 1 year high of $17.67. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $8.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.36. The firm has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. Flowers Foods's revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In related news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 813,380 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,441.40. The trade was a 20.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 11.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WealthCollab LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,192 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing 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 approximately $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 225.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 176.1% in 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 in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by 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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