Ethic Inc. Makes New $1.14 Million Investment in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Ethic Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 87,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,141,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 352.9% during the third quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 38,066 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 108.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 54,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 28,204 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,726,000. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 41.2% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 34,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 10,098 shares during the period. Finally, Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 48.9% during the third quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 357,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,671,000 after purchasing an additional 117,545 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on FLO shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Flowers Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $13.67.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of FLO stock opened at $10.79 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.53. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $10.34 and a one year high of $20.92. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 16.35% and a net margin of 3.78%.The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.020-1.08 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 107.61%.

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.