Insider Selling: Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Sells $89,617.20 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 4,584 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $89,617.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,085,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,222,482.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Large 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 Thursday, August 29th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 15,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.19, for a total transaction of $272,850.00.
• On Wednesday, July 24th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 14,620 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total transaction of $179,826.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LWAY opened at $20.91 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $14.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.73. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.06 and a 52-week high of $28.61. The company has a market cap of $307.52 million, a PE ratio of 24.31 and a beta of 1.01.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.08. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 7.69%. The business had revenue of $49.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.50 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Lifeway Foods, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on LWAY shares. StockNews.com upgraded Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 31st. Lake Street Capital increased their target price on 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 raised their price target on Lifeway Foods from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 2,334.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 4,668 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Lifeway Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Lifeway Foods by 4.8% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 246,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,244,000 after purchasing an additional 11,383 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its position in Lifeway Foods by 53.6% in the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 37,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 12,981 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $253,000. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.