Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Hits New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report)'s stock price 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on FLO shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on 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 given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.25.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.33.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 4.49%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a $0.2475 dividend. This is an increase from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In related news, Director Thomas Caldecot Chubb III bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.88 per share, for a total transaction of $50,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $774,133.68. This represents a 7.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William Jameson Mcfadden bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $16.92 per share, for a total transaction of $50,760.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 532,476 shares in the company, valued at $9,009,493.92. The trade was a 0.57% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 12,000 shares of company stock worth $202,440. 11.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

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

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.