Norges Bank Invests $42.59 Million in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,061,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,591,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.98% of Flowers Foods at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 171.8% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Flowers Foods by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 104.2% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,556 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $245,000. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 2.0 %

FLO stock opened at $18.83 on Friday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $17.95 and a one year high of $26.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.10%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is 82.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.