Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Reaches New 12-Month Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• Flowers Foods shares fell to a new 52-week low of $5.61, below both the 50-day moving average of $6.93 and the 200-day average of $7.71.
• Analyst sentiment is weak: the stock has an average “Reduce” rating, with three Holds and three Sells, although the consensus price target is $7.60.
• The company missed quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while revenue declined 4% year over year. Flowers Foods continues to pay a $0.125 quarterly dividend, representing an annualized yield of approximately 8.8%, but its payout ratio is elevated at 192.31%.

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $5.61 and last traded at $5.6350, with a volume of 191950 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $5.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FLO. Jefferies Financial Group set a $7.00 price objective on Flowers Foods in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $7.60.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average is $6.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94 and a beta of 0.39.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. Flowers Foods'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, research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.1250 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 192.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FLO. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 140.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,025 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,768 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,859 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 129.2% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,457 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,663 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc is a U.S.-based producer and distributor of packaged bakery foods. The company makes breads, buns, rolls, snack cakes, tortillas and related baked goods for retail, foodservice and other commercial customers.

Its portfolio includes nationally recognized brands such as Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Tastykake, Canyon Bakehouse and Mrs. Freshley's. Flowers Foods also supplies baked goods through regional and local brands, serving grocery stores, mass merchants, club retailers, restaurants and foodservice distributors.

Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, Flowers Foods operates bakeries and distribution facilities across the United States.

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