Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Lowers Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc cut its stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 247,299 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,838 shares during the quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc owned 0.12% of Flowers Foods worth $5,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 171.8% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 104.2% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,556 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 622.5% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 2,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Flowers Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.00.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Flowers Foods stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $18.25. 1,185,515 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,518,817. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.33 and a 12-month high of $26.12. The business's 50-day moving average is $18.62 and its 200-day moving average is $20.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.40.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 19.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.05%.

Flowers Foods 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.