Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Sells $492,800.00 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.64, for a total transaction of $492,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 712,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,563,958.72. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Monday, April 20th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 15,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total transaction of $397,500.00.
• On Wednesday, March 18th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 10,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.74, for a total transaction of $187,400.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

LWAY stock opened at $25.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $383.68 million, a P/E ratio of 25.89 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.97. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.31 and a fifty-two week high of $34.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The business had revenue of $63.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.80 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 17.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LWAY shares. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 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

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the third quarter valued at about $17,494,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,984,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 260.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 101,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,812,000 after acquiring an additional 73,203 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 73.0% in the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 163,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,958,000 after acquiring an additional 68,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 214,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,151,000 after acquiring an additional 53,900 shares in the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.