California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,160,755 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,960 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $26,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FLO. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 105.0% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 61,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 31,752 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 24,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at about $262,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 18,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of FLO stock opened at $24.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $23.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.43. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.64 and a 52-week high of $29.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 42.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.39.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.42%. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods 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, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.55 per share, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the company’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 value of $845,294.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,740 shares in the company, 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 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.