Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) CEO Sells $2,271,830.00 in Stock

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.87, for a total value of $2,271,830.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,022,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,113,270.60. This represents a 16.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FLO opened at $10.57 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.32. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.93 and a fifty-two week high of $20.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.79.

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

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 107.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 6.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,245,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,727,000 after buying an additional 602,920 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Flowers Foods by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,701,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,065,000 after acquiring an additional 251,923 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,718,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,625,000 after acquiring an additional 502,065 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,440,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,004,000 after acquiring an additional 134,056 shares during the period. Finally, 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 acquiring an additional 521,670 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on FLO shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial decreased 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $13.67.

About Flowers Foods

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.