Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Stock Price Crosses Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY)’s share price passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.86 and traded as low as $22.17. Lifeway Foods shares last traded at $22.26, with a volume of 107,626 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LWAY. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. BTIG Research set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Lifeway Foods and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $33.33.

Lifeway Foods Trading Down 7.2%

The company has a market cap of $315.65 million, a PE ratio of 29.84 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.52.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 12th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.04). Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 4.48%. The company had revenue of $67.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.45 million.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.62, for a total transaction of $1,583,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 794,793 shares in the company, valued at $17,978,217.66. The trade was a 8.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,040,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 2,451,792 shares in the company, valued at $50,997,273.60. This represents a 2.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 156,636 shares of company stock worth $3,481,060 and sold 175,000 shares worth $4,171,350. Insiders own 18.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $17,459,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Lifeway Foods during the second quarter valued at about $9,614,000. Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods in the second quarter worth about $8,704,597. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 19,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,654,000. 36.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lifeway Foods Company Profile

Lifeway Foods, Inc. is a U.S. food company specializing in cultured and probiotic dairy products. Its offerings include drinkable kefir, a fermented milk beverage, as well as cultured dairy products such as farmer cheese, sour cream and probiotic shots. Founded in 1986, the company has built its business around kefir and related products, which it sells under the Lifeway brand. Its products are distributed across the United States and are also available in select international markets. Julie Smolyansky has served as Lifeway Foods’ president and chief executive officer since 2002, following the death of her father, co-founder Michael Smolyansky.