AM Investment Strategies LLC Acquires 76,465 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

AM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 653.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,171 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 76,465 shares during the period. Flowers Foods makes up about 0.6% of AM Investment Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. AM Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $1,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. HM Payson & Co. bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FLO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Flowers Foods in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.00.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FLO traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $24.89. 986,046 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,180,804. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.64 and a twelve month high of $29.10. The company has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 42.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.40.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.42%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 EPS. Flowers Foods’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is presently 158.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flowers Foods news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total transaction of $845,294.47. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,721.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Flowers Foods news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $478,771.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total value of $845,294.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at $987,721.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.49% of the company’s stock.

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.