Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 42,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $945,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,018,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 184.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 184,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,085,000 after acquiring an additional 119,501 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 93.2% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 472,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,486,000 after acquiring an additional 228,063 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 113.8% in the third quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 343,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,619,000 after acquiring an additional 182,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 10,660.1% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 272,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,037,000 after purchasing an additional 269,701 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FLO has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson began coverage on Flowers Foods in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.00.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total transaction of $845,294.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,721.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Flowers Foods news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.55 per share, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at $478,771.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total value of $845,294.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,721.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FLO opened at $24.58 on Monday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $19.64 and a one year high of $29.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.38, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.62%.

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.