Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,430,000 shares, a growth of 18.8% from the November 15th total of 4,570,000 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

FLO stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $21.21. 2,068,197 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,204,649. Flowers Foods has a 1 year low of $20.95 and a 1 year high of $26.12. The company has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 19.41%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Flowers Foods will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Flowers Foods by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 1.0% during the second quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 52,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 4.4% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. ClearAlpha Technologies LP lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. ClearAlpha Technologies LP now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 21,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flowers Foods Company 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.