Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Short Interest Up 18.0% in February

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 12,500,000 shares, a growth of 18.0% from the February 13th total of 10,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,950,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.4 days. Approximately 6.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FLO traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $18.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 368,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,999,047. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.10. Flowers Foods has a 12-month low of $17.99 and a 12-month high of $26.12.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.26%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,658 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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