Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Flowers Foods from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Stephens lowered their price target on Flowers Foods from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Flowers Foods from $6.50 to $5.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $6.70.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:FLO opened at $6.42 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $6.12 and a 200-day moving average of $7.89. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67 and a beta of 0.38. Flowers Foods has a twelve month low of $5.40 and a twelve month high of $12.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.01). Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.850 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods will post 0.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cindy Cox sold 4,400 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.89, for a total value of $25,916.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $241,666.70. The trade was a 9.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 7.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Flowers Foods in the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $94,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 803,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,815,000 after acquiring an additional 76,020 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 68.2% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 13,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc. is a U.S. bakery company that produces and markets packaged breads, buns, rolls, snack cakes and other baked goods. Its products are sold under brands including Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread, Wonder, Tastykake, Canyon Bakehouse and Mrs. Freshley’s. Founded in 1919 in Thomasville, Georgia, the company has grown from a local bakery into a national producer of baked goods. Flowers Foods serves consumers across the United States through grocery stores and other retail channels, using a mix of direct-store delivery and warehouse distribution.