Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $15.74 and last traded at $15.93, with a volume of 95599 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $15.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.25.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $17.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.66.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 18.91%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a positive change from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.24%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is 91.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William Jameson Mcfadden bought 3,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.92 per share, with a total value of $50,760.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 532,476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,009,493.92. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director George E. Deese bought 6,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.84 per share, with a total value of $101,040.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,004,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,764,031.60. The trade was a 0.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 12,000 shares of company stock worth $202,440 over the last 90 days. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FLO. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Flowers Foods by 617.3% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,463 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Flowers Foods by 2,191.6% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 2,082 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Flowers Foods by 904.8% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,502 shares of the company's stock valued at $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.

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.