Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Short Interest Up 22.1% in February

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,590,000 shares, an increase of 22.1% from the January 31st total of 8,670,000 shares. Approximately 5.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,820,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FLO shares. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Flowers Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

FLO opened at $18.48 on Thursday. Flowers Foods has a 12-month low of $17.99 and a 12-month high of $26.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $19.44 and a 200-day moving average of $21.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 4.86%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Flowers Foods will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.20%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 82.05%.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.