Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $20.10 and last traded at $20.10, with a volume of 209 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.34. The firm has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.37.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 19.41% and a net margin of 4.70%. Flowers Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. Analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.65%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.21%.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 4.4% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. ClearAlpha Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. ClearAlpha Technologies LP now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Flowers Foods by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 45,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 5.6% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc produces and markets packaged bakery food products in the United States. Its principal products include fresh breads, buns, rolls, snack items, bagels, English muffins, and tortillas, as well as frozen breads and rolls under the Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, Mrs.