Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Shares Sold by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 503,854 shares of the company's stock after selling 36,250 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.24% of Flowers Foods worth $10,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

NYSE FLO traded up $0.23 on Tuesday, hitting $18.44. 165,689 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,515,467. The firm has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $18.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.27. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.33 and a fifty-two week high of $26.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 4.86%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.00.

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.