Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Here's What Happened

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

FLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.25.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 0.6%

The stock has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company's 50-day moving average price is $17.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.41.

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

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is presently 88.89%.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WBI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $592,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in Flowers Foods by 20.5% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 10,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Flowers Foods by 12.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 744,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,157,000 after purchasing an additional 81,066 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Flowers Foods by 10.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 150,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 14,476 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Flowers Foods by 7.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 976,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,562,000 after purchasing an additional 65,258 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.