UPDATE: Deutsche Bank Upgrades Flowers Foods to Buy on Strategic Activity

Deutsche Bank raised its rating on Flowers Foods

from Hold to Buy and increased its price target from $21 to $27. Deutsche Bank noted, "Based on a LT thesis, we are upgrading Flowers' shares due to consolidation and likely benefit to profitability. With heightened strategic activity in 2012 including some companies making acquisitions while others splitting up, we analyze the correlation between market share and operating margins across 22 categories. Our research suggests a high r-sq (0.83) between variables. We examine select categories (bread, dairy, yogurt) to see where profitability is possibly headed in the next few years." Flowers closed at $25.05 on Friday.