Thomasville National Bank Sells 114,457 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Thomasville National Bank lessened its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 589,283 shares of the company’s stock after selling 114,457 shares during the quarter. Thomasville National Bank owned about 0.28% of Flowers Foods worth $6,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Flowers Foods by 139.1% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,295,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,060,000 after buying an additional 2,499,194 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 73.6% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 3,683,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,068,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561,493 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,726,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 76.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,706,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,941,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 382.5% in the third quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 935,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,211,000 after acquiring an additional 741,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Flowers Foods news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total transaction of $1,678,270.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 813,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,531,441.40. The trade was a 20.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research lowered Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.17.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FLO opened at $8.57 on Friday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $7.86 and a one year high of $18.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.65.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. Research analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 247.50%.

Flowers Foods Profile

Flowers Foods, Inc is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States, offering a variety of fresh bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes and tortillas. Headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, the company operates an extensive network of bakeries and distribution centers that serve retail grocery chains, convenience stores, mass merchandisers and foodservice customers nationwide. Flowers Foods markets its products under well-known brands such as Nature’s Own, Wonder, Dave’s Killer Bread, Mrs.