Flower Foods' Dividend and Sales Bloom

I developed an interest in Flower Foods (FLO) some time back but did not follow up on further research. It was nice to get the email announcing that the company is increasing the dividend by 17%. This comes on a sales increase of 19% in the most recent quarter.

Management is projecting 2009 profits of $1.37 to $1.48 per share. That gives plenty of coverage for the 70¢ annual dividend. I am surprised that the shares are trading not very far above the recent low set in March. Since that time the over all market is up more than 30% and FLO has gained only 4%.