Brokers Set Expectations for Flowers Foods, Inc.’s FY2024 Earnings (NYSE:FLO)

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research reduced their FY2024 earnings estimates for Flowers Foods in a research report issued on Thursday, April 18th. Zacks Research analyst V. Bagree now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $1.23 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $1.24. The consensus estimate for Flowers Foods’ current full-year earnings is $1.25 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Flowers Foods’ Q4 2024 earnings at $0.22 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.36 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $1.37 EPS.

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

Flowers Foods Price Performance

NYSE FLO opened at $24.58 on Friday. Flowers Foods has a fifty-two week low of $19.64 and a fifty-two week high of $29.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $22.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.39.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 28.1% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 12,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 22.0% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 59,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 10,676 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Flowers Foods during the first quarter valued at about $539,000. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 60.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 12,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 4,865 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 5.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 27,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total value of $845,294.47. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at $987,721.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $987,721.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $478,771.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 11.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Flowers Foods’s 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.