Noble Financial Research Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY)

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) – Stock analysts at Noble Financial upped their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for Lifeway Foods in a research note issued on Wednesday, August 14th. Noble Financial analyst J. Gomes now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $0.27 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.20. Noble Financial currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Lifeway Foods’ current full-year earnings is $0.80 per share. Noble Financial also issued estimates for Lifeway Foods’ FY2024 earnings at $0.99 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.53 EPS.

LWAY has been the subject of a number of other reports. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on shares of Lifeway Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

LWAY stock opened at $18.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $273.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Lifeway Foods has a 12-month low of $8.18 and a 12-month high of $28.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.06.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $49.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.50 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 22.34%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.21 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the 4th quarter worth approximately $303,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 235,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,153,000 after acquiring an additional 31,813 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in Lifeway Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $187,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its position in Lifeway Foods by 53.6% during the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 37,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 12,981 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in Lifeway Foods by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 109,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 30,100 shares during the period. 36.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lifeway Foods

In related news, CEO Julie Smolyansky sold 10,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.26, for a total transaction of $174,412.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,084,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,977,037.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Lifeway Foods news, CEO Julie Smolyansky sold 10,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.26, for a total value of $174,412.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,084,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,977,037.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 14,620 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total value of $179,826.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,125,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,839,135.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 31.77% 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.