Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Flowers Foods from a "hold" to a "buy," though the broader analyst consensus remains negative with an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $11.17.
• Flowers Foods beat quarterly EPS (reported $0.22 vs. $0.16 expected) and saw revenue rise 11% year‑over‑year; it set FY2026 guidance of $0.80–$0.90 EPS (analysts expect 0.86) while shares trade around $8.79 with a $1.86 billion market cap.
• Insider activity included CEO Ryals McMullian selling 209,000 shares at about $8.03 (a 20.44% reduction in his ownership), while institutional investors hold roughly 75.45% of the stock and several increased their positions recently.

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

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Stephens set a $11.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $11.17.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of FLO opened at $8.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Flowers Foods has a 12 month low of $7.86 and a 12 month high of $18.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.47.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. The firm 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Flowers Foods will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $1,678,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 813,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 11.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,091,556 shares of the company's stock worth $229,476,000 after buying an additional 736,624 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,997,655 shares of the company's stock worth $119,654,000 after buying an additional 276,670 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 6.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,245,714 shares of the company's stock worth $163,727,000 after buying an additional 602,920 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,968,508 shares of the company's stock worth $86,697,000 after buying an additional 680,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,619,908 shares of the company's stock worth $72,025,000 after buying an additional 901,087 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company's stock.

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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