Bear of the Day: Flowers Foods (FLO)

You ever walk into a grocery store and catch the smell of freshly baked bread? It’s a simple pleasure. But as investors, we have to separate that warm, comforting aroma from cold, hard earnings trends. That brings us to today’s Bear of the Day, Flowers Foods (FLO). The stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and a company that’s feeling the heat for all the wrong reasons.Flowers Foods is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery goods in the United States. With brands like Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread, and Wonder Bread under its belt, you’d think the business would be in a good spot. After all, people have to eat, right?Yes, but this is Wall Street, not Main Street. Here, it’s not about what’s in your pantry. It’s about what’s in the pipeline. And when it comes to earnings, FLO has been serving up some half-baked results.Over the last sixty days, five analysts have cut their earnings estimates for the current year and next year. The bearish moves have slashed our Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year from $1.18 to $1.10 while next year’s number is off from $1.27 to $1.14. That means that analysts are now forecasting a 14% contraction in earnings this year and just 3.6% growth next year.The Food – Miscellaneous industry is in the Bottom 27% of our Zacks Industry Rank. There are some stocks within this industry which are in the good graces of our Zacks Rank. These include Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) Nomad Foods (NOMD) and Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) Ingedrion (INGR).Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Flowers Foods, Inc. (FLO): Free Stock Analysis Report Ingredion Incorporated (INGR): Free Stock Analysis Report Nomad Foods Limited (NOMD): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks