Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyLifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY – Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.
Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 price target on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.33.
Get Our Latest Research Report on LWAY
Lifeway Foods Stock Down 0.2%
NASDAQ:LWAY opened at $17.80 on Friday. Lifeway Foods has a twelve month low of $17.31 and a twelve month high of $34.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 0.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.08.
Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 17th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.13). Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 17.25%. The company had revenue of $55.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.00 million.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Lifeway Foods news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 10,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.74, for a total transaction of $187,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 747,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,014,203.02. The trade was a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 14,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.77, for a total transaction of $255,052.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,101,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,576,178.34. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,431 shares of company stock worth $1,811,070. 18.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of Lifeway Foods
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LWAY. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $90,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lifeway Foods by 6.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 124,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,075,000 after acquiring an additional 7,718 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Lifeway Foods by 293.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 10,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carlson Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $246,000. Institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.
Lifeway Foods Company Profile
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.