Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Shares Purchased by Alaska Permanent Fund Corp

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 117,227 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,695 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $2,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods during the first quarter worth $26,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on FLO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 25th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Flowers Foods from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In related news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.42% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE FLO traded down $0.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $22.47. 280,085 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,216,000. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.10, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.12. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.64 and a 1 year high of $26.33.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 18.35%. Flowers Foods’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. This is an increase from Flowers Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 162.71%.

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.