Insider Selling: Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Sells $1,310,000.00 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $1,310,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,183,333 shares in the company, valued at $31,003,324.60. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more 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 shares were sold at an average price of $25.34, for a total value of $633,500.00.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

LWAY opened at $29.75 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $25.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.18. 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 current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $454.58 million, a PE ratio of 30.67 and a beta of 0.48.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.30 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 business had revenue of $63.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.80 million.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LWAY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings raised Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lifeway Foods currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lifeway Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Lifeway Foods by 577.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,322 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Lifeway Foods by 302.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 2,229 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $90,000. 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.