Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda Sells 22,785 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda decreased its position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 56.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,545 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,785 shares during the quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at $478,771.50. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 11.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FLO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO opened at $22.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.89 and a 200 day moving average of $23.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.11. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.64 and a fifty-two week high of $26.33.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business 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 for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. This is an increase from Flowers Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 162.71%.

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.