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

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,160,755 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,960 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.55% of Flowers Foods worth $26,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Gladius Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 46.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $987,721.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, 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 Performance

Flowers Foods stock opened at $24.62 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $23.21 and its 200 day moving average is $22.43. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.64 and a 1-year high of $29.10.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 2.42% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.00.

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.