Stephens Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Stock Price

Key Points

• Stephens lowered Flowers Foods’ price target to $6 from $8 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying approximately 14.3% downside from the stock’s $7 price. The broader analyst consensus is “Reduce,” with an average target of $7.60.
• Flowers Foods reported quarterly EPS of $0.21, below the $0.22 consensus, while revenue of $1.19 billion missed estimates of $1.23 billion and declined 4% year over year.
• The stock is trading near its 52-week low of $6.80, with shares down from a 52-week high of $15.98. CFO Diego Scaglione purchased 5,000 shares, while institutional investors own 75.45% of the company.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by stock analysts at Stephens from $8.00 to $6.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Stephens' price objective indicates a potential downside of 14.29% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $7.00 price target on Flowers Foods in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $7.60.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

NYSE:FLO opened at $7.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $7.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.41. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92 and a beta of 0.40. Flowers Foods has a 52-week low of $6.80 and a 52-week high of $15.98.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The business's revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.850 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Flowers Foods will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In other news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione purchased 5,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $7.51 per share, for a total transaction of $37,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 194,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,458,291.80. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.23% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 542.5% in the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 3,386 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,859 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 225.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 176.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Flowers Foods by 151.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States, offering a variety of fresh bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes and tortillas. Headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, the company operates an extensive network of bakeries and distribution centers that serve retail grocery chains, convenience stores, mass merchandisers and foodservice customers nationwide. Flowers Foods markets its products under well-known brands such as Nature's Own, Wonder, Dave's Killer Bread, Mrs.

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