Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC Takes Position in Lifeway Foods, Inc. $LWAY

Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 291,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,704,597,000. Lifeway Foods comprises about 2.4% of Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,140,000. Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $705,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,654,000. De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods in the second quarter valued at about $1,814,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the second quarter worth about $9,614,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lifeway Foods

In related news, CEO Julie Smolyansky purchased 2,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.26 per share, with a total value of $50,520.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 2,214,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,928,039.70. The trade was a 0.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.45, for a total transaction of $1,908,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 894,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,772,481.85. This represents a 7.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 248,568 shares of company stock valued at $6,176,730 and have sold 592,698 shares valued at $17,070,367. Insiders own 18.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LWAY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Monday, June 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:LWAY opened at $26.47 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $29.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.28. 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 company has a market capitalization of $399.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.81 and a beta of 0.44. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.31 and a 12-month high of $34.20.

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

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.