Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Sets New 52-Week Low - Here's Why

Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $16.28 and last traded at $16.31, with a volume of 2384188 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FLO. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.25.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company's 50-day moving average price is $17.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.87. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a PEG ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.34.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 4.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This is a boost from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.20%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is 91.67%.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In related news, Director William Jameson Mcfadden purchased 3,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.92 per share, for a total transaction of $50,760.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 532,476 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,009,493.92. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director George E. Deese purchased 6,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.84 per share, with a total value of $101,040.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,004,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,764,031.60. This trade represents a 0.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 12,000 shares of company stock worth $202,440 over the last three months. 11.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,742,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,993,000 after buying an additional 314,670 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $276,000. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $9,261,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 98.8% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 174,056 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,596,000 after buying an additional 86,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $825,000. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.