Oak Thistle LLC Grows Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Oak Thistle LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 44.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,487 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,364 shares during the quarter. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $1,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 617.3% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,463 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Flowers Foods by 2,191.6% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,082 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 904.8% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,253 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE FLO opened at $16.41 on Thursday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.27 and a 12-month high of $23.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.85. The company has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.33.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 18.91%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This is an increase from Flowers Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 91.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William Jameson Mcfadden purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.92 per share, for a total transaction of $50,760.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 532,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,009,493.92. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director George E. Deese acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.84 per share, with a total value of $101,040.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,004,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,764,031.60. The trade was a 0.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 12,000 shares of company stock worth $202,440. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.