Truist Financial Has Lowered Expectations for Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Stock Price

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) had its price target cut by research analysts at Truist Financial from $15.00 to $10.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Truist Financial’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 12.24% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on FLO. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Monday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $13.67.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO stock opened at $11.40 on Thursday. Flowers Foods has a 52 week low of $11.25 and a 52 week high of $23.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.01. 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 (NYSE:FLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.30% and a return on equity of 17.85%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.020-1.08 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 350,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.82, for a total value of $4,487,000.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cindy Cox sold 3,600 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $254,910. This trade represents a 17.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 6.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,245,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,727,000 after purchasing an additional 602,920 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 91.6% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,392,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,548,000 after buying an additional 4,011,428 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,701,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,065,000 after buying an additional 251,923 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 9.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,718,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,625,000 after acquiring an additional 502,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 2.9% in the first quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 5,612,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,694,000 after acquiring an additional 159,460 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

About Flowers Foods

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.