Empowered Funds LLC Buys 64,650 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 90.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 135,928 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 64,650 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Flowers Foods worth $2,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 18,254.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,019 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 2,008 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the third quarter worth $52,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 171.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,623 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 329,400.0% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 3,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 84.5% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,455 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 2,041 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of FLO traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $18.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,431,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,964,370. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.34 and a 1 year high of $26.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock's 50 day moving average is $19.91 and its 200 day moving average is $21.70.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 19.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.18%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FLO. DA Davidson decreased their price target 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. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Flowers Foods presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.