Insider Selling: Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Sells $1,204,800.00 in Stock

by · The Markets Daily

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY – Get Free Report) major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.12, for a total transaction of $1,204,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 652,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,663,028.76. The trade was a 5.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

  • On Thursday, June 25th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 45,616 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $1,352,514.40.
  • On Friday, May 15th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 20,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.64, for a total transaction of $492,800.00.
  • On Monday, April 20th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 15,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total value of $397,500.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:LWAY traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.42. 482,721 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 95,436. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.23. The firm has a market cap of $449.54 million, a P/E ratio of 30.33 and a beta of 0.48. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.31 and a 52-week high of $34.20.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.30. The company had revenue of $63.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.80 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 17.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lifeway Foods has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.33.

Get Our Latest Research Report on LWAY

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LWAY. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP bought a new position in Lifeway Foods during the 3rd quarter worth $17,494,000. Slotnik Capital LLC grew its position in Lifeway Foods by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC now owns 141,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,935,000 after purchasing an additional 11,921 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 151,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,201,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Teton Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $225,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd increased its position in Lifeway Foods by 40.2% in the 1st quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 15,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 4,413 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Lifeway Foods Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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