Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC lowered its holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 812,154 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,800 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.38% of Flowers Foods worth $19,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 2,247.7% in the 1st 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE FLO traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.37. 1,045,464 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,096,030. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.64 and a 52-week high of $26.33. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Flowers Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 162.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 25th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.20.

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.