Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:FLO opened at $22.10 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.36. Flowers Foods has a fifty-two week low of $20.50 and a fifty-two week high of $26.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.82.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 19.41% and a net margin of 4.70%. Flowers Foods’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Flowers Foods will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AMG National Trust Bank purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the second quarter valued at about $711,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 267.5% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 204,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,537,000 after purchasing an additional 148,753 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in Flowers Foods during the first quarter valued at $581,000. Seven Eight Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 254.1% in the 1st quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 38,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 27,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thomasville National Bank raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 429,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,897,000 after buying an additional 99,599 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

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.