GAMMA Investing LLC Makes New Investment in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 5.3% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 18,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 13.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 75,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,684,000 after acquiring an additional 8,958 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 14.0% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 40,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $901,000 after acquiring an additional 4,996 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 27.8% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 63,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after buying an additional 13,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Flowers Foods during the third quarter worth $1,622,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FLO opened at $24.90 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $23.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.64 and a 1-year high of $29.10. The company has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.37.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. Flowers Foods’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.62%.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,721.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,721.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders own 11.42% 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.