Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Sells 50,000 Shares

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $1,310,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,183,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,003,324.60. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Edward Smolyansky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 15th, Edward Smolyansky sold 24,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.87, for a total value of $596,880.00.
• 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 value of $633,500.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of LWAY traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $26.43. The company had a trading volume of 268,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 106,074. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $403.85 million, a P/E ratio of 27.25 and a beta of 0.48. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.31 and a 1 year high of $34.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.14.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The company had revenue of $63.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.80 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 17.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LWAY. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 5.7% in 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 grew its position in Lifeway Foods by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its position in Lifeway Foods by 9.0% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 16,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lifeway Foods Company Profile

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.