Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.34.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 19.41% and a net margin of 4.70%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position 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 valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. ClearAlpha Technologies LP grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 2.9% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 1.4% in the second 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 raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 5.6% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

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.