Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY)

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 246,480 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,383 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Lifeway Foods were worth $4,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LWAY. Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 14,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $303,000. Bailard Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $187,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 656.8% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 4,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 53.6% during the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 37,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 12,981 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LWAY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Noble Financial upgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 8th. Finally, Lake Street Capital increased their target price on shares of Lifeway Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th.

Insider Activity at Lifeway Foods

In other news, CEO Julie Smolyansky sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.41, for a total transaction of $368,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,094,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,560,150.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Julie Smolyansky sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.41, for a total value of $368,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,094,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,560,150.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 21,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.33, for a total value of $446,609.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,268,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,786,023.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,201,169 in the last three months. 31.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lifeway Foods Stock Up 3.7 %

Lifeway Foods stock traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $12.60. 145,449 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 141,567. The company has a market cap of $185.31 million, a PE ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $14.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.17. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.76 and a 12 month high of $28.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.53.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 14th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $44.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.00 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 22.34% and a net margin of 7.77%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Lifeway Foods, Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.