Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $20.21 and last traded at $20.22, with a volume of 447241 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.24.

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

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 84.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. ClearAlpha Technologies LP raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 4.4% during the third quarter. ClearAlpha Technologies LP now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 56,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

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.