Insider Selling: Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Sells $1,204,800.00 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.12, for a total value of $1,204,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 652,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,663,028.76. The trade was a 5.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Thursday, June 25th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 45,616 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $1,352,514.40.
• On Friday, May 15th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 20,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.64, for a total transaction of $492,800.00.
• On Monday, April 20th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 15,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total transaction of $397,500.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ LWAY opened at $29.39 on Monday. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.31 and a 1 year high of $34.20. 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 company has a market capitalization of $449.08 million, a PE ratio of 30.30 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $25.58 and a 200 day moving average of $23.27.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. The business had revenue of $63.01 million during 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 Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lifeway Foods during the third quarter worth $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 577.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 302.0% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 1st quarter worth $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.