Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Hits New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $15.73 and last traded at $15.77, with a volume of 448820 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.25.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 2.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $16.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.22.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 18.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. 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 was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.31%. This is a positive change from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is presently 91.67%.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 617.3% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,700 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,463 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 2,191.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,177 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 2,082 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 904.8% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,502 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 2,253 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

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.