Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 88,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $968,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FLO. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $499,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 209.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 949,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,054,000 after purchasing an additional 642,942 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 7.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 976,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,562,000 after purchasing an additional 65,258 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 10.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 150,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 14,476 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 12.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 744,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,157,000 after purchasing an additional 81,066 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 4.6%

Shares of Flowers Foods stock opened at $7.72 on Thursday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.66 and a 52-week high of $17.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.52 and a 200 day moving average of $10.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 0.46.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.8%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 247.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the firm’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 owned 813,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $11.17.

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.