Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 1,550,180 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 50.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,511,602 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,550,180 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $12,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,091,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,476,000 after buying an additional 736,624 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 96.5% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 1,092,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,259,000 after buying an additional 536,507 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 1,515.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 357,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,892,000 after buying an additional 335,582 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,664,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 144.8% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 341,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,782,000 after acquiring an additional 201,946 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of FLO stock opened at $7.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $7.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.82. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.80 and a 52-week high of $16.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04 and a beta of 0.39.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. Flowers Foods’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 142.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Flowers Foods from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $9.60.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In related news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.51 per share, for a total transaction of $37,550.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 194,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,458,291.80. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

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.