Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Short Interest Update

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,600,000 shares, an increase of 28.5% from the December 31st total of 7,470,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,620,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.9 days. Currently, 4.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of FLO stock opened at $19.56 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Flowers Foods has a 1-year low of $18.90 and a 1-year high of $26.12. The firm has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.39.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 19.41%. Flowers Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Flowers Foods will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.91%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Flowers Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Flowers Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 18,254.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,008 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 171.8% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Flowers Foods by 104.2% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.