Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on LWAY. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 price target on Lifeway Foods in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lifeway Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.33.

Lifeway Foods Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LWAY opened at $21.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $332.78 million, a PE ratio of 29.93 and a beta of 0.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.01. Lifeway Foods has a fifty-two week low of $19.50 and a fifty-two week high of $34.20.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.05). Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 5.47%.The firm had revenue of $57.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.00 million.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lifeway Foods news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 26,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.42, for a total value of $645,445.02. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 757,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,506,037.66. The trade was a 3.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,779,895 in the last quarter. 18.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LWAY. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $206,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 3rd quarter worth $144,000. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the third quarter worth $436,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Ionic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the third quarter valued at $500,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

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.