Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $10.46 Million Stock Holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 453,312 shares of the company’s stock after selling 186,194 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $10,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FLO. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in Flowers Foods by 10.8% during 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 during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP raised its position in Flowers Foods by 254.1% during 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 during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Flowers Foods during the first quarter valued at $581,000. Keynote Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Flowers Foods during the first quarter valued at $224,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Flowers Foods by 128.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 2,980 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FLO opened at $21.57 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $22.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.88. 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 one year low of $20.50 and a one year high of $26.12. The company has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.36.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.