SG Capital Management LLC Sells 145,924 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

SG Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 85.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,434 shares of the company’s stock after selling 145,924 shares during the quarter. SG Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in Flowers Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $581,000. Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 254.1% in the first quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 38,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 27,577 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 3.1% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 206,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,895,000 after buying an additional 6,279 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 10.8% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 247,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,879,000 after buying an additional 24,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,644,000. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:FLO traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.05. 1,188,533 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,278,412. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.07, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.36. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.08. 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 twelve month low of $19.64 and a twelve month high of $26.33.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 2.45%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. Flowers Foods’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FLO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.20.

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.