Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 990,221 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 90.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,068 shares of the company’s stock after selling 990,221 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $2,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 6.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,159,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,971,000 after purchasing an additional 259,216 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 85.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 540,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,460,000 after acquiring an additional 248,800 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 423.1% during the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 306,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,079,000 after acquiring an additional 248,185 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth $4,461,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 416.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,831,000 after purchasing an additional 203,807 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Flowers Foods stock opened at $19.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.20. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.99 and a 52-week high of $26.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $19.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.63.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 19.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

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.