The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $3.38 Million Stock Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,707 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,074 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $3,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $276,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 642.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 113,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,348,000 after buying an additional 98,335 shares during the period. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,261,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 174,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,596,000 after acquiring an additional 86,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth $825,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 2.0 %

FLO stock opened at $17.23 on Friday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.17 and a twelve month high of $26.12. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $18.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.81.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company earned $0.20 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.57%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FLO shares. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th.

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.