Ipsen Advisor Group LLC Makes New Investment in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Ipsen Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 448,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,261,000. Flowers Foods accounts for 7.9% of Ipsen Advisor Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Flowers Foods at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 171.8% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,713 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 104.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,276 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 3,294 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FLO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Flowers Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson cut their price objective 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, 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 report 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.00.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

NYSE:FLO traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $18.87. The stock had a trading volume of 998,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,465,382. The stock 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. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.95 and a 52 week high of $26.12. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.20.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.