Versant Capital Management Inc Purchases 2,924 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 7,694.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,962 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,924 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $66,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Flowers Foods by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 52,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Argyle Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,568,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 80.3% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 166,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,961,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 83,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,396,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,233,686. The company has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.25, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.36. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.64 and a 12-month high of $26.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.09.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 2.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. This is a boost from Flowers Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 6th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 162.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FLO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.20.

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.