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

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.

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FLO. Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Monday, August 18th. Truist Financial decreased 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.33.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 95.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FLO. Susquehanna International Group LLP boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 75,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,000 after acquiring an additional 32,631 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 217,032 shares of the company's stock worth $4,484,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 228,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,729,000 after buying an additional 48,686 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 205.9% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 220,732 shares of the company's stock worth $4,560,000 after acquiring an additional 148,565 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.