Fisher Asset Management LLC Buys 32,320 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 886,349 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,320 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $18,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Flowers Foods in the third quarter valued at $52,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Flowers Foods by 171.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,658 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Flowers Foods by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Flowers Foods by 104.2% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,556 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Flowers Foods by 329,400.0% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 3,294 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on FLO shares. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Flowers Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of FLO stock opened at $18.97 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.52 and its 200-day moving average is $21.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.38. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.99 and a 52 week high of $26.12.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 4.86%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 82.05%.

Flowers Foods Profile

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.