Signaturefd LLC Buys 4,350 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 31.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,325 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,350 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 4,583,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,171,000 after buying an additional 1,238,749 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,815,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,259,000 after purchasing an additional 64,119 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,232,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,336,000 after purchasing an additional 5,207 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,173,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,033,000 after purchasing an additional 32,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,082,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,361,000 after purchasing an additional 425,988 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLO has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In related news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at $478,771.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at $478,771.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total transaction of $845,294.47. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,721.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.49% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Flowers Foods stock opened at $24.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.64 and a 52-week high of $29.10. The company has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.91, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 158.62%.

Flowers Foods 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.