Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Sells $1,147,792.20 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 38,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.85, for a total value of $1,147,792.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,014,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,273,571.50. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Monday, June 22nd, Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $1,310,000.00.
• 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 shares were sold at an average price of $25.34, for a total value of $633,500.00.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

Shares of LWAY opened at $29.39 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $449.08 million, a P/E ratio of 30.30 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $25.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.56. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.31 and a 12 month high of $34.20.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LWAY. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings raised Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at about $17,494,000. Ionic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $500,000. Slotnik Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC now owns 141,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,935,000 after acquiring an additional 11,921 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 151,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Finally, Teton Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

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.