Insider Buying: Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Buys $3,362,710.50 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 131,871 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $3,362,710.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,068,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,743,333. The trade was a 6.81% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% 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 Friday, May 15th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 33,174 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.27 per share, for a total transaction of $838,306.98.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LWAY opened at $25.53 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.96. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.31 and a 52-week high of $34.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $390.10 million, a P/E ratio of 26.32 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LWAY. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 8.2% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 6.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 124,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,075,000 after purchasing an additional 7,718 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 293.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 10,049 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 6.8% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 17,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LWAY. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.33.

About Lifeway Foods

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.