Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Key Points

• Flowers Foods updated its FY 2026 guidance to EPS of $0.80-$0.90 and revenue of $5.2 billion-$5.3 billion. The EPS range is slightly above the consensus estimate of $0.84, while revenue is roughly in line with expectations.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with multiple firms cutting ratings or price targets. The stock now carries an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $9.60.
• The stock fell sharply on the news, trading down to $7.02 on unusually heavy volume. Shares are near their 1-year low of $6.80 and well below the 200-day moving average of $9.94.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.800-0.900 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.840. The company issued revenue guidance of $5.2 billion-$5.3 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $5.2 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $9.60.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FLO traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $7.02. The stock had a trading volume of 15,654,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,879,811. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $8.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.94. Flowers Foods has a 1-year low of $6.80 and a 1-year high of $17.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.1%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 247.50%.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total value of $1,678,270.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 813,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 7.23% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 225.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 64.4% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 140.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,061 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 2,958 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company's stock.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States, offering a variety of fresh bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes and tortillas. Headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, the company operates an extensive network of bakeries and distribution centers that serve retail grocery chains, convenience stores, mass merchandisers and foodservice customers nationwide. Flowers Foods markets its products under well-known brands such as Nature's Own, Wonder, Dave's Killer Bread, Mrs.

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