Franklin Resources Inc. Has $3.32 Million Stock Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 160,871 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,299 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $3,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 6.6% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $276,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 642.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 113,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,348,000 after acquiring an additional 98,335 shares in the last quarter. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,261,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 85.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 72,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 33,480 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FLO opened at $18.47 on Friday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.33 and a twelve month high of $26.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.69 and its 200-day moving average is $20.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.40.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Flowers Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson cut 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 dropped their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Flowers Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.