Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Stock Price Crosses Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY)’s share price passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.86 and traded as low as $22.17. Lifeway Foods shares last traded at $22.26, with a volume of 107,626 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LWAY. Wall Street Zen lowered Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lifeway Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. BTIG Research started coverage on Lifeway Foods in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.52. The stock has a market cap of $336.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $66.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.40 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 12.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lifeway Foods

In related news, CEO Julie Smolyansky bought 2,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.26 per share, with a total value of $50,520.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 2,214,095 shares in the company, valued at $55,928,039.70. This trade represents a 0.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.45, for a total value of $1,908,750.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 894,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,772,481.85. This trade represents a 7.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders purchased 352,252 shares of company stock valued at $8,346,030 and sold 175,000 shares valued at $4,171,350. Insiders own 18.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the second quarter worth about $17,459,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,614,000. Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,704,597. AWM Investment Company Inc. bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,654,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,558,000 after buying an additional 19,035 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Lifeway Foods Company Profile

Lifeway Foods, Inc. is a U.S.-based food company that produces and markets cultured and probiotic dairy products. Its portfolio is centered on kefir, a fermented milk beverage available in a variety of flavors and formats, including low-fat, whole-milk, organic and lactose-free options. The company also offers drinkable yogurt, sour cream, farmer cheese, cream cheese and other cultured dairy products. Through its Green Valley Creamery brand, Lifeway markets lactose-free organic kefir and related dairy products, while its products are sold through grocery stores, natural and specialty food retailers, club stores, mass merchandise channels and e-commerce platforms.