Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on FLO. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.25.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.33. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $16.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.26.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 4.49%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.27%. This is a positive change from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In related news, Director William Jameson Mcfadden purchased 3,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 532,476 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,009,493.92. The trade was a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Caldecot Chubb III acquired 3,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.88 per share, with a total value of $50,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $774,133.68. This represents a 7.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $202,440. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FLO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $330,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 35,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 37,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 281,806 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,822,000 after purchasing an additional 29,049 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,058,000. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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