Zacks Research Reduces Earnings Estimates for Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Flowers Foods in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, June 2nd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $0.30 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.33. The consensus estimate for Flowers Foods' current full-year earnings is $1.18 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Flowers Foods' Q3 2025 earnings at $0.27 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.13 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.35 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.31 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.30 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $1.16 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.40 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $1.21 EPS.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 4.86%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on FLO. Truist Financial cut their price target on Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson cut their price target on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.25.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:FLO traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.65. The stock had a trading volume of 4,351,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,677,124. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $17.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Flowers Foods has a 1-year low of $16.29 and a 1-year high of $23.87.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Flowers Foods by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,737,981 shares of the company's stock worth $469,767,000 after buying an additional 518,745 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Flowers Foods by 91.6% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,392,872 shares of the company's stock worth $159,548,000 after buying an additional 4,011,428 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Flowers Foods by 270.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,449,240 shares of the company's stock worth $141,610,000 after buying an additional 5,437,735 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in Flowers Foods by 2.9% in the first quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 5,612,523 shares of the company's stock worth $106,694,000 after buying an additional 159,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Flowers Foods by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,299,631 shares of the company's stock worth $88,829,000 after purchasing an additional 428,963 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Flowers Foods news, Director George E. Deese purchased 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.84 per share, for a total transaction of $101,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,004,990 shares in the company, valued at $33,764,031.60. This represents a 0.30% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Caldecot Chubb III purchased 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.88 per share, for a total transaction of $50,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $774,133.68. The trade was a 7.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $202,440 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.57% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This is a boost from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.95%. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is presently 91.67%.

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.