Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Shares Sold by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,236 shares of the company’s stock after selling 615 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $1,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth $5,018,000. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 93.2% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 472,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,486,000 after purchasing an additional 228,063 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 184.8% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 184,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,085,000 after acquiring an additional 119,501 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 113.8% during the third quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 343,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,619,000 after acquiring an additional 182,806 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 10,660.1% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 272,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,037,000 after acquiring an additional 269,701 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

FLO stock opened at $22.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.51, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.27. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.64 and a fifty-two week high of $29.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 2.42% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 158.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Flowers Foods news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total value of $845,294.47. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at $987,721.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Flowers Foods news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.55 per share, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at $478,771.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total transaction of $845,294.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at $987,721.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.49% of the company’s stock.

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.