Inspire Investing LLC Raises Holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 36.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,493 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,507 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brucke Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 19,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 85.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 4,957 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 860.2% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 278.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,147 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 39,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 5,058 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE FLO opened at $12.70 on Wednesday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.42 and a 52-week high of $23.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.31 and a 200-day moving average of $16.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.27. 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 quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 15th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.30% and a return on equity of 17.85%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.10 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 7.8%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 95.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FLO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $15.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In related news, insider Cindy Cox sold 3,600 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $54,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $254,910. The trade was a 17.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 350,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,231,380 shares in the company, valued at $15,786,291.60. The trade was a 22.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Flowers Foods 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.