Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on LWAY. Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 price target on Lifeway Foods in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.33.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

LWAY opened at $17.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.12. Lifeway Foods has a fifty-two week low of $17.31 and a fifty-two week high of $34.20. The company has a market cap of $269.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 0.13.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 17th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.13). Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 17.25%. The business had revenue of $55.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.00 million.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lifeway Foods

In other news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 10,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.74, for a total transaction of $187,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 747,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,014,203.02. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 14,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.77, for a total transaction of $255,052.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,101,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,576,178.34. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 86,431 shares of company stock worth $1,811,070. Company insiders own 18.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods in the third quarter worth about $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 433.3% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,229 shares in the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.