Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Sells $179,826.00 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 14,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total value of $179,826.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,125,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,839,135.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Monday, May 6th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 5,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.78, for a total transaction of $133,900.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LWAY traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $11.94. The stock had a trading volume of 7,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 140,585. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 1.01. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.80 and a twelve month high of $28.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.12.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.08). Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 22.34%. The company had revenue of $44.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Lifeway Foods, Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LWAY. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Lifeway Foods by 656.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 4,348 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $187,000. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 14,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the fourth quarter worth $303,000. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 37,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 12,981 shares in the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 8th. Lake Street Capital increased their target price on shares of Lifeway Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Noble Financial upgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th.

About Lifeway Foods

Lifeway Foods, Inc produces and markets probiotic-based products in the United States and internationally. Its primary product is drinkable kefir, a cultured dairy product in various organic and non-organic sizes, flavors, and types. The company offers European-style soft cheeses; cream and other products; ProBugs, a line of kefir products designed for children; drinkable yogurt; and fresh made butter and sour cream.