Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Acquires 18,852 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,147,242 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,852 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.54% of Flowers Foods worth $25,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 2,247.7% during 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 period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Flowers Foods stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.05. 975,771 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,218,185. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.07. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.64 and a 12 month high of $26.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

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

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 162.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.75.

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.