Key Points
- Major shareholder buying: Divisadero Street Capital Management purchased 17,482 Lifeway Foods shares for $368,695.38, increasing its stake by 0.74% to 2.37 million shares. It has also made several additional purchases recently.
- Stock performance and earnings: LWAY opened at $20.46, down 2.6%, and remains below its 50- and 200-day moving averages. The company missed quarterly EPS estimates by $0.25, although revenue exceeded expectations.
- Analyst sentiment remains positive: Lifeway Foods has a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $34, despite mixed recent analyst actions. Institutional investors own approximately 36.4% of the company.
Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana bought 17,482 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.09 per share, for a total transaction of $368,695.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,365,590 shares in the company, valued at $49,890,293.10. This represents a 0.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company's shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.
Divisadero Street Capital Mana also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Tuesday, October 6th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana bought 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.80 per share, with a total value of $1,040,000.00.
- On Monday, October 5th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 36,202 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.01 per share, with a total value of $760,604.02.
- On Monday, August 17th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 35,952 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.78 per share, with a total value of $890,890.56.
- On Friday, August 14th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 15,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.69 per share, with a total value of $370,350.00.
- On Thursday, August 13th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 195,616 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.87 per share, for a total transaction of $4,864,969.92.
Lifeway Foods Trading Down 2.6%
NASDAQ LWAY opened at $20.46 on Wednesday. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.31 and a 12 month high of $32.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The company has a market capitalization of $309.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.23 and a beta of 0.47. The company's fifty day moving average price is $25.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.73.
Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $66.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.40 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 4.48%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
LWAY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Freedom Capital raised Lifeway Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lifeway Foods from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lifeway Foods from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Lifeway Foods in a report on Thursday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $34.00.
Get Our Latest Analysis on LWAY
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the second quarter worth about $9,614,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the second quarter worth about $17,459,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Lifeway Foods in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,711,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Lifeway Foods by 167.2% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 124,294 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,709,000 after acquiring an additional 77,774 shares during the period. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,814,000. 36.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Lifeway Foods Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Lifeway Foods, Inc is a food and beverage company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes cultured and probiotic products. The company is best known for Lifeway Kefir, a fermented, cultured milk beverage available in a range of flavors and formulations, including low-fat, nonfat and lactose-free options.
Its product portfolio also includes ProBugs kefir for children, non-dairy kefir, drinkable yogurt, European-style farmer cheese, sour cream and other cultured dairy products.
Further Reading
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