Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Posted by George Bondi on Jun 7th, 2026

Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO – Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.60.

A number of research firms have weighed in on FLO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target 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. Zacks Research upgraded Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Stephens cut their price target on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods Trading Up 2.8%

NYSE FLO opened at $7.50 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Flowers Foods has a 52 week low of $6.80 and a 52 week high of $16.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $8.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.61.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Flowers Foods will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 282.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Flowers Foods news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total value of $1,678,270.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 813,380 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,441.40. This represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 859.6% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 4,026,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,809,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,962 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 139.1% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,295,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,499,194 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $21,680,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,603,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,333,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732,003 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.