Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Insider Cindy Cox Sells 4,400 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Flowers Foods insider Cindy Cox sold 4,400 shares at an average price of $5.89, for approximately $25,916. After the transaction, she owned 41,030 shares, a 9.69% reduction.
• Weak financial performance: The company missed quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, reporting $0.21 EPS and $1.19 billion in revenue, while revenue declined 4% year over year.
• Negative outlook despite high dividend: Analysts maintain a consensus “Reduce” rating with a $6.80 target price, while Flowers Foods’ $0.50 annual dividend yields about 8.4% but exceeds earnings with a 192.31% payout ratio.

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) insider Cindy Cox sold 4,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.89, for a total value of $25,916.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,666.70. This represents a 9.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

NYSE FLO traded down $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.96. 2,928,576 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,546,363. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94 and a beta of 0.43. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $5.40 and a 1-year high of $13.11. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $6.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.49.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.01). Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 1.06%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.850 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.80 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a $0.1250 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.4%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 192.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens lowered their target price on Flowers Foods from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 24th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $6.50 to $5.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Flowers Foods from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research cut Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $6.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 115.0% in the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 4,701 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,514 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 542.5% in the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 3,386 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,859 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 200.0% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,663 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new position in Flowers Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 232.5% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,319 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 3,020 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc NYSE: FLO is a U.S. food company that produces and markets packaged bakery products. Its portfolio includes breads, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries and other baked goods sold through grocery stores, mass retailers, foodservice providers and other retail channels.

The company's brands include Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, Tastykake and Mrs. Freshley's. Flowers Foods distributes its products throughout the United States through a combination of direct-store-delivery and warehouse distribution systems.

Flowers Foods traces its history to 1919, when it began as a bakery business in Thomasville, Georgia.

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