Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Sells 283,184 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC cut its position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,102,423 shares of the company's stock after selling 283,184 shares during the period. Flowers Foods accounts for 7.9% of Southeast Asset Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC owned approximately 1.47% of Flowers Foods worth $64,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 171.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,658 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 104.2% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,276 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its position in Flowers Foods by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 5,716 shares of the company's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 2,732 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FLO shares. StockNews.com downgraded Flowers Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial decreased 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:FLO traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $18.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,464,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,513,715. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.33 and a 12-month high of $26.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.47. The stock has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.40.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 EPS 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 prior year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.20%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.