Insider Buying: Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Acquires $838,306.98 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana bought 33,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.27 per share, for a total transaction of $838,306.98. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,101,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,105,915.80. This represents a 1.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Divisadero Street Capital Mana also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, May 14th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana bought 131,871 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $3,362,710.50.

Lifeway Foods Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LWAY opened at $25.53 on Thursday. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.31 and a 1 year high of $34.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $390.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32 and a beta of 0.53. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.96.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 577.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 433.3% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 302.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 2,229 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LWAY. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.33.

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.