Insider Selling: Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) CEO Sells $174,412.30 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) CEO Julie Smolyansky sold 10,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.26, for a total transaction of $174,412.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,084,417 shares in the company, valued at $35,977,037.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Friday, May 17th, Julie Smolyansky sold 20,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.41, for a total transaction of $368,200.00.
• On Wednesday, March 27th, Julie Smolyansky sold 2,559 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.35, for a total transaction of $49,516.65.
• On Monday, March 25th, Julie Smolyansky sold 10,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $172,300.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

LWAY opened at $15.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.28. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.76 and a 1 year high of $28.61. The stock has a market cap of $222.86 million, a P/E ratio of 17.62 and a beta of 1.31.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 14th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $44.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.00 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 22.34% and a net margin of 7.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lifeway Foods, Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on shares of Lifeway Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Noble Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LWAY. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Lifeway Foods by 656.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 4,348 shares during the period. Teton Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Lifeway Foods during the third quarter worth $114,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods in the third quarter valued at about $143,000. Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $187,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 14,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lifeway Foods

Lifeway Foods, Inc produces and markets probiotic-based products in the United States and internationally. Its primary product is drinkable kefir, a cultured dairy product in various organic and non-organic sizes, flavors, and types. The company offers European-style soft cheeses; cream and other products; ProBugs, a line of kefir products designed for children; drinkable yogurt; and fresh made butter and sour cream.