Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Shares Down 5.6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Flowers Foods shares fell 5.6% to about $6.33 in Monday trading, on volume far below its average.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: MarketBeat reports a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $6.70 price target, with several firms recently lowering targets or downgrading the stock.
• Recent results missed expectations: quarterly EPS was $0.21 versus $0.22 forecast, while revenue fell 4% year over year. The company pays a $0.50 annualized dividend, a 7.9% yield, but its payout ratio is 192.31%.

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) shares fell 5.6% during trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $6.46 and last traded at $6.3340. 336,097 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 6,453,124 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Flowers Foods from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Stephens reduced their target price on Flowers Foods from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $6.70.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.93. The stock has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. Flowers Foods's revenue 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 0.80 EPS 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 issued a $0.1250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.9%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 192.31%.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In other news, insider Cindy Cox sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.89, for a total transaction of $25,916.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,666.70. This represents a 9.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.23% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 91,527 shares of the company's stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 27,214 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 53.4% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 47,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 16,453 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 11.7% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 121,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 12,768 shares during the period. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 4,442.4% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 22,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 21,768 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

Flowers Foods, Inc is a producer and marketer of packaged bakery foods in the United States. The company makes and distributes bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries, and other baked goods through a network of bakeries and distribution operations.

Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Nature's Own, Wonder, Dave's Killer Bread, Tastykake, Canyon Bakehouse, and Mrs. Freshley's. Flowers Foods sells products through grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, foodservice distributors, convenience stores, and other retail channels.

Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, Flowers Foods serves customers across the United States.

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