Brokerages Set Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) PT at $24.00

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the four ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.00.

FLO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Flowers Foods from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. StockNews.com raised Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 25th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of FLO opened at $21.93 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.54 and its 200 day moving average is $23.14. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 37.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.71 and a beta of 0.36. Flowers Foods has a 12-month low of $19.64 and a 12-month high of $26.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). Flowers Foods had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Flowers Foods will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. This is a boost from Flowers Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is presently 162.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Flowers Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Flowers Foods by 80.3% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Flowers Foods by 2,247.7% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

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.