Gotham Asset Management LLC Has $43.81 Million Stock Holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 859.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,026,582 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,606,962 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $43,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FLO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $21,680,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 70.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,603,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,082,000 after buying an additional 1,896,607 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 73.6% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 3,683,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,068,000 after buying an additional 1,561,493 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,619,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,025,000 after buying an additional 901,087 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,269,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,697,000 after buying an additional 819,920 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In other news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.51 per share, with a total value of $37,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 194,180 shares in the company, valued at $1,458,291.80. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total transaction of $1,678,270.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 813,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This represents a 20.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 7.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO stock opened at $7.32 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.77. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.80 and a 52-week high of $16.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.43.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. Research analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 142.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on FLO shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Stephens reduced their target price on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $9.60.

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.