54,000 Shares in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 54,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,216,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FLO. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 4,583,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,749 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in Flowers Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $19,875,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,518,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,082,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,361,000 after buying an additional 425,988 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Flowers Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $9,078,000. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on FLO shares. StockNews.com upgraded Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. DA Davidson began coverage on Flowers Foods in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey purchased 5,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey purchased 5,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total value of $845,294.47. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,721.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FLO traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $24.69. 897,462 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,180,384. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.04. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.64 and a 52 week high of $29.10. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $23.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.34.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 158.62%.

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.