Lifeway Foods, Inc. $LWAY Shares Purchased by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) by 33.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 214,650 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,900 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Lifeway Foods were worth $4,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LWAY. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the third quarter worth $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 577.3% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the second quarter worth about $40,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Lifeway Foods by 302.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 2,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the 1st quarter valued at about $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Monday, June 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.33.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LWAY opened at $30.48 on Tuesday. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.31 and a twelve month high of $34.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $465.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.34.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The company had revenue of $63.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.80 million.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lifeway Foods news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 45,616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $1,352,514.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 607,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,003,687.55. This represents a 6.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 39,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.41, for a total value of $1,149,872.18. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,071,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,518,961.69. This trade represents a 3.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,906,454 shares of company stock worth $80,235,639. Corporate insiders own 18.58% of the company’s stock.

About Lifeway Foods

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.