Argyle Capital Management Inc. Sells 18,800 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 22.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 65,518 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,800 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $1,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,018,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter worth approximately $737,000. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 160,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,615,000 after purchasing an additional 62,923 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 184.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 184,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,085,000 after purchasing an additional 119,501 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp Et Al raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 472,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,486,000 after purchasing an additional 228,063 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey purchased 5,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.55 per share, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $478,771.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 11.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FLO. StockNews.com raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

FLO stock traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.62. 1,668,682 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,070,219. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 42.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.04. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.64 and a 52 week high of $29.10.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 2.42% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.62%.

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.