Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $17.99 and last traded at $18.29, with a volume of 301062 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Flowers Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 0.7 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is 82.05%.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth $1,067,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 209,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,323,000 after purchasing an additional 18,648 shares during the period. Brucke Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $363,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,668,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 39,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 9,317 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flowers Foods Company 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.