SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 314,247 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 1,057.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 343,957 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 314,247 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $4,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,245,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,727,000 after purchasing an additional 602,920 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 3.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,701,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,065,000 after buying an additional 251,923 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 9.6% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,850,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,528,000 after buying an additional 337,399 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 4.6% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,910,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,510,000 after acquiring an additional 127,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 2,424,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,749,000 after acquiring an additional 164,186 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $13.67.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of Flowers Foods stock opened at $10.72 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.30. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $9.93 and a one year high of $20.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.2%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.87, for a total transaction of $2,271,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,022,380 shares in the company, valued at $11,113,270.60. This trade represents a 16.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.