Xponance Inc. Buys 1,249 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Xponance Inc. increased its position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,023 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 171.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 104.2% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 329,400.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 3,294 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FLO shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

FLO opened at $18.51 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $19.00 and its 200 day moving average is $20.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82, a PEG ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.41. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.95 and a 12-month high of $26.12.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 19.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is 82.05%.

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.