Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Sets New 52-Week Low Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• Flowers Foods, Inc.'s stock reached a new 52-week low of $14.42, showing a decline from its previous close of $14.80, with a trading volume of 276,684 shares.
• Brokerages have recently downgraded the stock from a "buy" to "hold" rating, with target prices set between $15.00 and $16.00, suggesting a cautious outlook on its performance.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.30, beating estimates, although revenue fell short of expectations at $1.24 billion, indicating mixed financial performance.

Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $14.42 and last traded at $14.44, with a volume of 276684 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.80.

Specifically, insider Cindy Cox sold 3,600 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $54,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $254,910. This trade represents a 17.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FLO shares. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.33.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.58 and a 200 day moving average of $16.85. 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 earnings results on Friday, August 15th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. The company's revenue 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is presently 95.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FLO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 270.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,449,240 shares of the company's stock worth $141,610,000 after buying an additional 5,437,735 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 91.6% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,392,872 shares of the company's stock worth $159,548,000 after buying an additional 4,011,428 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,674,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 59.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,841,985 shares of the company's stock worth $29,435,000 after buying an additional 687,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 209.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 949,688 shares of the company's stock worth $18,054,000 after buying an additional 642,942 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.