Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Shares Acquired by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 105,514 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,626 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $2,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 18,254.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 2,008 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Flowers Foods during the third quarter worth about $52,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Flowers Foods by 171.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 329,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 3,294 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FLO opened at $19.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.70 and a 200-day moving average of $21.97. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $18.90 and a one year high of $26.12.

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

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

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

Flowers Foods 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.