Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Announces Earnings Results, Meets Estimates

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23, FiscalAI reports. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 17.85% and a net margin of 4.30%.The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. Flowers Foods’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods updated its FY 2025 guidance to 1.020-1.08 EPS.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE:FLO traded up $0.25 on Friday, reaching $11.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,724,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,849,625. Flowers Foods has a 12-month low of $11.45 and a 12-month high of $23.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $13.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.22. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.3%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 350,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.82, for a total transaction of $4,487,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,231,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,786,291.60. This trade represents a 22.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cindy Cox sold 3,600 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $54,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $254,910. This represents a 17.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 64.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 87,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 140.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 2,958 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 3,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 28.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 3,757 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FLO. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $15.33.

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.