Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) CEO Julie Smolyansky Acquires 2,000 Shares

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) CEO Julie Smolyansky bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.26 per share, for a total transaction of $50,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,214,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,928,039.70. This trade represents a 0.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

Shares of LWAY opened at $25.04 on Thursday. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $17.31 and a one year high of $34.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market cap of $378.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.77 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the second quarter valued at about $17,459,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Lifeway Foods during the second quarter worth $9,614,000. Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,704,597,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,558,000 after purchasing an additional 19,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $6,654,000. 36.39% of the stock is 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.