Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) Short Interest Up 255.8% in May

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,030,606 shares, a growth of 255.8% from the April 30th total of 289,632 shares. Currently, 8.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 176,614 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.8 days.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

Shares of Lifeway Foods stock traded down $0.19 on Friday, reaching $23.83. The stock had a trading volume of 164,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 157,730. Lifeway Foods has a 1 year low of $17.31 and a 1 year high of $34.20. The company has a market cap of $364.12 million, a P/E ratio of 24.57 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.98.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last announced its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $60.80 million.

Insider Activity at Lifeway Foods

In related news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.64, for a total value of $492,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 712,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,563,958.72. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.34, for a total transaction of $633,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,076,642 shares in the company, valued at $27,282,108.28. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,598,756 shares of company stock valued at $70,654,047 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 18.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LWAY. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the third quarter worth approximately $17,494,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,984,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 260.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 101,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,000 after purchasing an additional 73,203 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 73.0% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 163,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,958,000 after purchasing an additional 68,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 33.5% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 214,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,000 after purchasing an additional 53,900 shares during the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.