Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Flowers Foods' stock price gapped down from $16.58 to an opening of $15.82, with recent trades reflected at $16.08 on high volume.
• Analysts have downgraded the stock rating from "buy" to "hold," with Jefferies reducing the price target from $20.00 to $16.00.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.2475, representing a yield of 6.2%, although its payout ratio stands at 91.67%.

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $16.58, but opened at $15.82. Flowers Foods shares last traded at $16.08, with a volume of 900,449 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.33.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock's 50 day moving average is $16.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.37.

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. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.10 EPS. Analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This is a boost from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William Jameson Mcfadden bought 3,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.92 per share, with a total value of $50,760.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 532,476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,009,493.92. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director George E. Deese purchased 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.84 per share, for a total transaction of $101,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,004,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,764,031.60. This represents a 0.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $202,440. Company insiders own 11.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $862,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 41,780 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $527,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 94.2% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 24,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 11,651 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.