Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Given New $8.00 Price Target at Stephens

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) had its price objective reduced by Stephens from $11.00 to $8.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $9.60.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:FLO opened at $7.31 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Flowers Foods has a fifty-two week low of $7.00 and a fifty-two week high of $17.29.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is presently 247.50%.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In related news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total value of $1,678,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 813,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. The trade was a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 13.5% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,371,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,054,000 after buying an additional 521,670 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,091,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,476,000 after purchasing an additional 736,624 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $1,818,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 139.1% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,295,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,499,194 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 55.0% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 445,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,820,000 after purchasing an additional 158,234 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.