Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $12.63 Million Holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,161,256 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120,459 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.55% of Flowers Foods worth $12,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FLO. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $499,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 642,942 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 976,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,562,000 after purchasing an additional 65,258 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 150,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 14,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 81,066 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:FLO opened at $7.79 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $6.80 and a one year high of $16.85. The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25 and a beta of 0.40.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 142.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Stephens reduced their price objective on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Flowers Foods has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $9.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total transaction of $1,678,270.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 813,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. The trade was a 20.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione purchased 5,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $7.51 per share, for a total transaction of $37,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 194,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,458,291.80. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods 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.