Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Edward Smolyansky Sells 50,000 Shares

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $1,310,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,183,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,003,324.60. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Edward Smolyansky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 15th, Edward Smolyansky sold 24,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.87, for a total value of $596,880.00.
• On Thursday, May 14th, Edward Smolyansky sold 25,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.34, for a total transaction of $633,500.00.

Lifeway Foods Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:LWAY traded up $1.00 during trading on Monday, reaching $26.43. The stock had a trading volume of 268,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 106,074. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.31 and a fifty-two week high of $34.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $25.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.11. The stock has a market cap of $403.85 million, a P/E ratio of 27.25 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on LWAY. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LWAY. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at about $17,494,000. Slotnik Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC now owns 141,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,935,000 after buying an additional 11,921 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in Lifeway Foods by 1.2% during the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 151,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Teton Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the third quarter worth about $225,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd lifted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 40.2% in the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 15,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 4,413 shares during the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.