Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Stephens set a $11.00 price target on Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.60.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:FLO opened at $8.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $10.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.38. Flowers Foods has a twelve month low of $8.17 and a twelve month high of $20.23.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,022,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,113,270.60. This trade represents a 16.97% 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 link. Company insiders own 11.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the first quarter valued at $499,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 209.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 949,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,054,000 after buying an additional 642,942 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 976,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,562,000 after buying an additional 65,258 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 150,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,859,000 after buying an additional 14,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 744,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,157,000 after buying an additional 81,066 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

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.