National Bank of Canada FI Purchases 56,625 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 4,819.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,800 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,625 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $1,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 85.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 72,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 33,480 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Flowers Foods by 20.6% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 238,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,506,000 after acquiring an additional 40,691 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 163.2% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 153,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,543,000 after acquiring an additional 95,248 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the third quarter worth about $978,000. Finally, ClearAlpha Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:FLO opened at $21.21 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $22.27 and its 200-day moving average is $22.54. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.95 and a 1-year high of $26.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is presently 84.21%.

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.