Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Announces Earnings Results

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods updated its FY 2025 guidance to 1.020-1.08 EPS.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of FLO stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.90. The company had a trading volume of 6,724,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,849,625. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $13.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.22. The stock has a market capitalization 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 has a 52 week low of $11.45 and a 52 week high of $23.04.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued 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 8.3%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is presently 107.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,231,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,786,291.60. The trade was a 22.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cindy Cox sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $54,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $254,910. This represents a 17.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 11.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FLO. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,245,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,727,000 after buying an additional 602,920 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Flowers Foods by 4.6% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,910,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,510,000 after acquiring an additional 127,669 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 34.2% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,121,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,908,000 after acquiring an additional 540,933 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 59.5% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,841,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,435,000 after acquiring an additional 687,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 64.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,531,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,180,000 after purchasing an additional 598,753 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial decreased their price target 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. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a report 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 MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $15.33.

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.