Analysts Set Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) PT at $22.75

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the four ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.75.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FLO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 25th.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:FLO traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $22.71. 1,827,934 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,228,019. Flowers Foods has a one year low of $19.64 and a one year high of $26.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business's 50 day moving average is $22.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 38.49, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.36.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 16th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.24 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 18.35%. Flowers Foods's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 6th. This is an increase from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is currently 162.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Flowers Foods in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 80.3% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 2,247.7% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other 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.