Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Buys $370,350.00 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana bought 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.69 per share, with a total value of $370,350.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 2,312,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,087,131.64. This represents a 0.65% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Monday, August 17th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 35,952 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.78 per share, for a total transaction of $890,890.56.
• On Thursday, August 13th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana acquired 195,616 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $4,864,969.92.

Lifeway Foods Stock Down 4.1%

NASDAQ:LWAY traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $24.75. 297,744 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 151,718. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $29.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.07. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.31 and a 1 year high of $34.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $373.97 million, a P/E ratio of 35.36 and a beta of 0.44.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $66.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.40 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 4.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Monday, June 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.00.

Institutional Trading of Lifeway Foods

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LWAY. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 33.5% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 214,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,151,000 after purchasing an additional 53,900 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 8.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,558,000 after purchasing an additional 19,035 shares during the last quarter. Steadtrust LLC bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $477,000. Carlson Capital L.P. bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the 1st quarter worth approximately $193,000. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its stake in Lifeway Foods by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by 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.