Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Sets New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $16.38 and last traded at $16.51, with a volume of 314936 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FLO. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.25.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 2.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock's 50 day moving average is $17.88 and its 200-day moving average is $19.38. The company has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.37.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 4.86%. Flowers Foods's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.86%. This is a positive change from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.67%.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 270.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,449,240 shares of the company's stock worth $141,610,000 after acquiring an additional 5,437,735 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 91.6% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,392,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,548,000 after purchasing an additional 4,011,428 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $58,476,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $42,591,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 209.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 949,688 shares of the company's stock worth $18,054,000 after purchasing an additional 642,942 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.