Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 1.59%.The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Flowers Foods updated its FY 2026 guidance to 0.800-0.900 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Flowers Foods’ conference call:

• Flowers Foods said first-quarter execution and cost discipline helped deliver bottom-line results ahead of market expectations, even though comparable sales fell 1.2% on softer trends.
• Traditional loaf volumes remained pressured by heavy promotions, consumer trade-down, and macro weakness, with management saying the category is still soft and near-term top-line trends remain cautious.
• The company highlighted strong momentum in better-for-you and snacking brands, including Nature’s Own Keto, Dave’s Killer Bread, Canyon Bakehouse, and especially Simple Mills, which posted 9% retail sales growth and is expected to accelerate through 2026.
• Management emphasized the Nature’s Own relaunch with fewer, simpler ingredients and a major marketing push, calling it a key step in strengthening the brand’s position in the better-for-you segment.
• Flowers cut its annual dividend to $0.50 per share to reduce leverage and interest expense, and it ended the quarter at 3.2x net leverage, though management expects the move to improve financial flexibility and fund growth investments.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

NYSE FLO traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $7.02. The stock had a trading volume of 15,775,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,906,364. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.34 and a 200 day moving average of $9.94. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 0.46. Flowers Foods has a 52-week low of $6.80 and a 52-week high of $17.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.1%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 247.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Flowers Foods news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total value of $1,678,270.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 813,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This represents a 20.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FLO. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 225.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 64.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 140.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 2,958 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Stephens lowered their price target on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $9.60.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

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.