Entropy Technologies LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Entropy Technologies LP reduced its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,355 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,479 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 4.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,851,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,907,000 after purchasing an additional 242,797 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 73.1% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 5,301,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,694,000 after buying an additional 2,239,592 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 1.2% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 4,623,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,631,000 after buying an additional 54,757 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 4.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,720,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,592,000 after buying an additional 160,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 65.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,104,000 after buying an additional 520,661 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FLO opened at $21.57 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.50 and a 12 month high of $26.12.

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

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

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.