Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Trading Down 4.7% on Disappointing Earnings

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 4.7% during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $23.82 and last traded at $24.28. 635,586 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 1,210,642 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.49.

The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.58 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.42%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.55 per share, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at $478,771.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Flowers Foods news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total transaction of $845,294.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at $987,721.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.55 per share, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $478,771.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 11.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,018,000. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $321,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 500,654 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,270,000 after purchasing an additional 34,189 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $737,000. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 160,588 shares of the company's stock worth $3,615,000 after buying an additional 62,923 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.82. The company has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.37.

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.