Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Hits New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Flowers Foods stock reached a new 52-week low of $14.68 during trading, reflecting a decline as it previously closed at $15.04.
• Analysts have downgraded the stock's rating to "hold," with price targets adjusted down to between $15.00 and $16.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2475 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 6.7%.

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $14.68 and last traded at $14.70, with a volume of 892168 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.33.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.04. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 15th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 17.85% and a net margin of 4.30%.The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is 95.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 78.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 13,535 shares of the company's stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 5,959 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $862,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 60.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 110,480 shares of the company's stock worth $1,765,000 after acquiring an additional 41,780 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 64.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $527,000. 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.