Key Points
- Major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Management bought 131,871 shares of Lifeway Foods at an average price of $25.50, a $3.36 million transaction that increased its stake by 6.81% to 2.07 million shares.
- The same shareholder also purchased 33,174 more shares the following day at $25.27 each, signaling continued insider confidence in the company.
- Lifeway Foods recently reported Q1 earnings that met EPS estimates at $0.30 and beat revenue expectations with $63.01 million in sales; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $34.33.
Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 24,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.87, for a total value of $596,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,052,642 shares in the company, valued at $26,179,206.54. This represents a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company's shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.
Edward Smolyansky also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Thursday, May 14th, Edward Smolyansky sold 25,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.34, for a total transaction of $633,500.00.
- On Thursday, March 19th, Edward Smolyansky sold 14,353 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.77, for a total transaction of $255,052.81.
- On Tuesday, March 17th, Edward Smolyansky sold 22,313 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.10, for a total transaction of $448,491.30.
- On Monday, March 16th, Edward Smolyansky sold 13,334 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.60, for a total value of $274,680.40.
Lifeway Foods Price Performance
Shares of Lifeway Foods stock opened at $23.80 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $363.66 million, a PE ratio of 24.54 and a beta of 0.53. The business's 50-day moving average price is $23.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.95. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.31 and a 12 month high of $34.20.
Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The firm had revenue of $63.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.80 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 6.54%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LWAY. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Lifeway Foods by 8.2% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,068 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Lifeway Foods by 5.7% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Lifeway Foods by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the period. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 9.0% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lifted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 16,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lifeway Foods from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered Lifeway Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lifeway Foods has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.33.
View Our Latest Analysis on LWAY
About Lifeway Foods
(
Get Free Report)
Lifeway Foods, Inc (NASDAQ: LWAY) is a Chicago-based food company specializing in probiotic-rich cultured dairy products. Established in 1986 by Michael Smolyansky, the company pioneered the introduction of kefir to the U.S. market. Under the leadership of CEO Julie Smolyansky, who succeeded her father in 2002, Lifeway has grown from a single product operation into a diversified portfolio of fermented foods and beverages aimed at promoting digestive health and wellness.
The company's flagship product is kefir, a cultured milk beverage naturally rich in probiotics, vitamins and minerals.
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