Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Holdings Raised by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 42.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 455,114 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 134,918 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.22% of Flowers Foods worth $10,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. HM Payson & Co. bought a new position in Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Gladius Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In other news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $987,721.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $987,721.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey acquired 5,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 11.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FLO has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE FLO opened at $25.04 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.51. The company has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.39. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.64 and a 12 month high of $29.10. 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 (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 2.42% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 3.67%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is 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.