Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Stock Price Up 5% - What's Next?

Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) rose 5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $19.57 and last traded at $19.58. Approximately 646,621 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 2,007,667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson dropped 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.00.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 3.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $19.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.30.

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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 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 last year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,737,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,767,000 after acquiring an additional 518,745 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,381,444 shares of the company's stock worth $90,521,000 after purchasing an additional 965,097 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,299,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,829,000 after purchasing an additional 428,963 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,219,943 shares of the company's stock worth $87,205,000 after purchasing an additional 60,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at about $58,476,000. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

About Flowers Foods

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.