Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) in a report issued on Saturday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

Lifeway Foods stock opened at $23.85 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $22.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.57. Lifeway Foods has a 1 year low of $10.06 and a 1 year high of $28.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $362.59 million, a P/E ratio of 27.73 and a beta of 1.00.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 14th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.19). Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 19.97%. The company had revenue of $46.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.00 million.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 15,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.12, for a total transaction of $361,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,040,549 shares in the company, valued at $25,098,041.88. The trade was a 1.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 20,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.23, for a total value of $464,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,251,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,075,643.66. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 142,034 shares of company stock valued at $3,261,817 in the last 90 days. 18.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Beryl Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,607,000. TIG Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,512,000. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,925,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 712.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 85,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,132,000 after buying an additional 75,383 shares during the period. Finally, Slotnik Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,314,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

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.