Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO)

Key Points

• Traders bought 8,370 put options on Flowers Foods, about 614% above its average daily put volume, signaling unusually high options activity.
• Flowers Foods missed third-quarter earnings and revenue estimates: adjusted EPS was $0.10 versus $0.15 expected, while revenue fell 4.7% year over year to $1.17 billion. The company cut its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $0.63–$0.68.
• Shares fell to $5.55 on Friday, near their 12-month low; analysts’ consensus rating is “Reduce,” with an average price target of $5.88.

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 8,370 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 614% compared to the average daily volume of 1,173 put options.

More Flowers Foods News

Investors following FLO have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Operating cash flow increased year over year, and cash balances rose, providing a partial offset to the weaker earnings picture. Quiver Quantitative earnings summary
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS was $0.10, below the $0.15 analyst estimate and down from $0.23 a year earlier. Revenue was $1.17 billion, slightly short of estimates and 4.7% lower year over year; net income also fell sharply. Zacks earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: Management cut full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $0.63–$0.68, below the $0.78 consensus, and forecast revenue of $5.0–$5.1 billion versus expectations of about $5.1 billion. The reduced outlook adds to investor concerns about demand and profitability. Revised 2026 guidance

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $6.50 to $5.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $5.88.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, insider Cindy Cox sold 4,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.89, for a total value of $25,916.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at $241,666.70. This represents a 9.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 7.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaGrep UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods in the third quarter valued at $321,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter worth $5,807,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new position in Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $94,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 803,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,815,000 after buying an additional 76,020 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Flowers Foods stock traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5.55. 9,929,083 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,521,768. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.84. Flowers Foods has a 12 month low of $5.30 and a 12 month high of $12.14.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 12th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The business's revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.630-0.680 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Flowers Foods will post 0.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.1250 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.0%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 192.31%.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc. is a U.S. bakery company that produces and markets packaged breads, buns, rolls, snack cakes and other baked goods. Its products are sold under brands including Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Tastykake, Canyon Bakehouse and Mrs. Freshley's. Founded in 1919 in Thomasville, Georgia, the company has grown from a local bakery into a national producer of baked goods. Flowers Foods serves consumers across the United States through grocery stores and other retail channels, using a mix of direct-store delivery and warehouse distribution.

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