Topic: How To Invest

Hello Pat: Please, I’d like your opinion on Flowers Foods, which makes Wonder Bread. Thank you for your great advice as always.

Article Excerpt

Flowers Foods Inc., $18.53, symbol FLO on New York (Shares outstanding: 212.3 million; Market cap: $3.9 billion, www.flowersfoods.com), is a leading maker of fresh baked goods, including breads, buns, rolls, tortillas and snack cakes. Its main brands include Nature’s Own, Wonder Bread, Whitewheat, Cobblestone Bread Co., Tastykake, Home Pride and Mrs. Freshley’s. The company has two major businesses: Direct Store Delivery (84% of 2015 sales) operates 39 bakeries that supply products to supermarkets, other food retailers and restaurants through 5,100 independent distributors. Warehouse (16%) operates 10 bakeries that make snack cakes, breads and rolls, and delivers them directly to customers’ warehouses. Wal-Mart, including its Sam’s Club stores, is Flowers’ biggest single customer. It accounts for 19.3% of Flowers’ 2015 sales. The baker continues to grow by acquisition. Since it became a public company in 1968, it has purchased over 100 related businesses. Thanks largely to acquisitions, Flowers’ sales rose 36.9%, from $2.8 billion in 2011 to $3.8 billion in 2015. Overall earnings gained 87.1%, from $123.4 million…