Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Edward Smolyansky Sells 111,548 Shares

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 111,548 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.26, for a total transaction of $3,263,894.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 902,642 shares in the company, valued at $26,411,304.92. This trade represents a 11.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Edward Smolyansky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, June 30th, Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.56, for a total value of $1,478,000.00.
• On Wednesday, June 24th, Edward Smolyansky sold 38,452 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.85, for a total value of $1,147,792.20.
• On Monday, June 22nd, Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $1,310,000.00.
• On Friday, May 15th, Edward Smolyansky sold 24,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.87, for a total value of $596,880.00.
• On Thursday, May 14th, Edward Smolyansky sold 25,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.34, for a total value of $633,500.00.

Lifeway Foods Trading Up 5.1%

Shares of LWAY opened at $30.94 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.90 and a 200 day moving average of $23.46. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.31 and a fifty-two week high of $34.20. The firm has a market cap of $472.76 million, a P/E ratio of 31.90 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.14.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. The company had revenue of $63.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.80 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 17.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LWAY shares. Weiss Ratings raised Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.33.

Institutional Trading of Lifeway Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the 3rd quarter worth about $17,494,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $2,984,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 260.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 101,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,000 after purchasing an additional 73,203 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 73.0% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 163,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,958,000 after purchasing an additional 68,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 33.5% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 214,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,000 after purchasing an additional 53,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

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.