Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $20.59 and last traded at $20.74, with a volume of 79236 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Flowers Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 0.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $22.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.48.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 19.41% and a net margin of 4.70%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 84.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 39.0% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 75,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 21,118 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $711,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 1.7% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,147,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,469,000 after purchasing an additional 18,852 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 1.0% in the second quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 52,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 2.0% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

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.