Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Shares Acquired by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 98.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 174,056 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 86,510 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.08% of Flowers Foods worth $3,596,000 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 171.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 104.2% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,556 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Flowers Foods by 329,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 3,294 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of FLO traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $18.87. The stock had a trading volume of 998,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,465,382. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.95 and a twelve month high of $26.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.99 and a 200 day moving average of $20.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on FLO. Truist Financial lowered their price objective 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 cut their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Flowers Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.