Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Stock: Insider Divisadero Street Capital Mana Buys 17,482 Shares

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 17,482 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.09 per share, for a total transaction of $368,695.38. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,365,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,890,293.10. This trade represents a 0.74% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 Tuesday, October 6th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana acquired 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.80 per share, with a total value of $1,040,000.00.
• On Monday, October 5th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana bought 36,202 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.01 per share, with a total value of $760,604.02.
• On Monday, August 17th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 35,952 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.78 per share, for a total transaction of $890,890.56.
• On Friday, August 14th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 15,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.69 per share, with a total value of $370,350.00.
• On Thursday, August 13th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana acquired 195,616 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $4,864,969.92.

Lifeway Foods Trading Down 2.6%

LWAY stock traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 173,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 156,414. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.31 and a 12 month high of $32.71. 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 $25.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.73. The company has a market cap of $309.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.23 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $9,614,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $17,459,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,711,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Lifeway Foods by 167.2% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 124,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,709,000 after buying an additional 77,774 shares during the period. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the second quarter worth about $1,814,000. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Lifeway Foods

Lifeway Foods, Inc is a food and beverage company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes cultured and probiotic products. The company is best known for Lifeway Kefir, a fermented, cultured milk beverage available in a range of flavors and formulations, including low-fat, nonfat and lactose-free options.

Its product portfolio also includes ProBugs kefir for children, non-dairy kefir, drinkable yogurt, European-style farmer cheese, sour cream and other cultured dairy products.