Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY)’s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $22.99 and traded as high as $24.01. Lifeway Foods shares last traded at $23.60, with a volume of 121,759 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LWAY. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.33.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $360.61 million, a P/E ratio of 24.33 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $24.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.99.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $63.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.80 million.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lifeway Foods

In related news, major shareholder S.A. Danone sold 3,454,756 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $67,367,742.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 131,871 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $3,362,710.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,068,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,743,333. This represents a 6.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,598,756 shares of company stock worth $70,654,047. 18.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LWAY. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the third quarter worth about $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Lifeway Foods by 577.3% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,322 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the second quarter worth about $40,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Lifeway Foods by 433.3% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Lifeway Foods by 302.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 2,229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% 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.