Steadtrust LLC Makes New $477,000 Investment in Lifeway Foods, Inc. $LWAY

Steadtrust LLC purchased a new position in Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $477,000. Steadtrust LLC owned about 0.10% of Lifeway Foods at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LWAY. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 577.3% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position 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 valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 2,229 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Lifeway Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $90,000. Institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

LWAY stock opened at $31.50 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $28.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.14. The firm has a market cap of $481.38 million, a PE ratio of 32.47 and a beta of 0.44. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.31 and a fifty-two week high of $34.20.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lifeway Foods

In other Lifeway Foods news, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 111,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.26, for a total value of $3,263,894.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 902,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,411,304.92. This trade represents a 11.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 100,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.11, for a total value of $3,011,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 507,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,272,002.77. This trade represents a 16.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,006,454 shares of company stock valued at $83,246,639. 18.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Monday, June 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $34.33.

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.