Flowers Foods, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.25 (NYSE:FLO)

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of 0.2475 per share on Friday, March 20th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th.

Flowers Foods has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 24 years. Flowers Foods has a payout ratio of 87.6% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Equities analysts expect Flowers Foods to earn $1.29 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.99 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 76.7%.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

FLO stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $10.07. The company had a trading volume of 5,404,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,821,521. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $10.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16 and a beta of 0.33. Flowers Foods has a 1-year low of $9.44 and a 1-year high of $20.23.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 1.59%.The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.87, for a total transaction of $2,271,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,022,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,113,270.60. The trade was a 16.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WealthCollab LLC increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 1,623.7% during the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,192 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 262.9% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,898 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Flowers Foods during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 103.8% in the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States, offering a variety of fresh bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes and tortillas. Headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, the company operates an extensive network of bakeries and distribution centers that serve retail grocery chains, convenience stores, mass merchandisers and foodservice customers nationwide. Flowers Foods markets its products under well-known brands such as Nature’s Own, Wonder, Dave’s Killer Bread, Mrs.