Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO Shares Purchased by Hestia Capital Management LLC

Hestia Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO – Free Report) by 56.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 180,100 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Flowers Foods comprises about 1.6% of Hestia Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Hestia Capital Management LLC owned 0.09% of Flowers Foods worth $1,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,371,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,054,000 after buying an additional 521,670 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,818,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 139.1% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,295,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,499,194 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 249.8% during the third quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 253,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,309,000 after purchasing an additional 181,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 1,057.7% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 343,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,489,000 after purchasing an additional 314,247 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:FLO opened at $8.79 on Friday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.86 and a 12-month high of $18.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $8.85 and a 200-day moving average of $10.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96 and a beta of 0.39.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 1.59%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.3%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 247.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FLO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Stephens set a $11.00 price objective on Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $11.17.

View Our Latest Stock Report on FLO

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total transaction of $1,678,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 813,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Flowers Foods

(Free Report)

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.

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