This week, I'm seeking a second robust dividend-paying stock from the consumer defensive business sector for my Ivy portfolio. 

That defensive sector includes thirteen industries all related to providing those conveniently packaged goods we've just gotta have. Industries like: beverages, brewed, soft, or distilled; confections; discount stores; education & training; farm products; food distribution; grocery stores; household & personal products; packaged goods; pharmaceutical retailers; tobacco

Today I'm reviewing a mid-cap packaged foods company, named Flowers Foods Inc. Its trading ticker symbol is FLO.

Flowers Foods Inc functions in the food and beverage industry. It primarily manufactures and sells packaged bakery products under the brand names Nature's Own, White wheat and Wonder Bread.

It operates through two segments, Direct-Store-Delivery (DSD) and Warehouse Delivery. 

The DSD segment produces and markets fresh bread, buns, rolls, tortillas, and snack cakes. This segment offers its products primarily under Nature's Own, Wonder, Cobblestone Bread Company, Tastykake, and Dave's Killer Bread brand names. It operates 39 bakeries, as well as sells its products through a network of independent distributors to retail and food-service customers. 

The Warehouse Delivery segment produces snack cakes, frozen bread, and rolls for national retail, foodservice, vending, and co-pack customers through a network of warehouse channels. This segment markets its products under the Mrs. Freshley's, Alpine Valley Bread, and European Bakers brand names. It also sells products under franchised and licensed trademarks and trade names, such as Sunbeam, Bunny, and Sara Lee. 

The company was formerly known as Flowers Industries and changed its name to Flowers Foods, Inc. in 2001. 

Flowers Foods, Inc. was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia.

I use three key data points to gauge the value of any dividend equity or fund like Flowers Foods Inc. (FLO): 

(1) Price

(2) Dividends

(3) Returns

Besides those three, four more keys will finally unlock an equity or fund in which to invest.

But those first three primary keys, best tell whether a company has made, is making, and will make money. 

FLO Price

Flower's price per share was $19.35 at yesterday's market close. A year ago its price was $19.98 for a price drop of $0.63 per share for the year or a 3.2% stumble. 

Assuming Flower's price will trade in the range of $18 to $23  next year, Flower's recent $19.35 price could maybe climb by $1.00 and improve to $20.35 by early-December, 2019. 

FLO Dividends

Flower's most recent quarterly dividend was $0.18 declared November 16th and payable, December 14th, next Friday. 

That $0.18 quarterly stipend equates to an annual amount of $0.72 yielding 3.7% at yesterday's closing $19.35 price.

Gains For FLO?

Adding the $0.72 annual dividend to my estimated $1.00 annual price upside estimate for Flowers Foods Inc. (FLO) adds up to a $1.72 potential gross annual per share gain, which will be reduced by costs to trade the shares.  

For a little over $1,000.00 invested today at the $19.35 recent price, we could buy 52 FLO shares. 

A $10 broker fee paid half at purchase and half at sale costs us $0.19 per share. Subtract that $0.19 brokerage cost from the estimated $1.72 gross annual gain leaves a net gain of $1.53 X 52 shares = $79.56 for a 7.75% net gain on a $1,006.20 investment.

Therefore, Flowers Foods Inc whose trading ticker symbol is FLO, now shows a possible 7.75% net gain including a 3.7% dividend yield. 

Six brokers cover this stock:

Five say "hold" your FLO shares.

One says "sell" FLO shares.

The median price consensus among those seventeen brokers is an $18.33 target, $2.02 under my $20.35 estimate and $1.02 under the current price.

Therefore, you can look at Flowers, and see it has made money, is making money, but could net a 7.75% to 0% net annual gain including that  3.7% dividend yield. It could be more, it could be less.   

The above speculation is based on past year performance. The actual results remain to be seen to determine if Flowers Foods Inc. (FLO) is worth your time and money.