Short Interest in Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) Decreases By 59.1%

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 421,205 shares, a decrease of 59.1% from the May 14th total of 1,030,606 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 146,212 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LWAY opened at $25.13 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. 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 $384.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lifeway Foods

In other Lifeway Foods news, major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 131,871 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $3,362,710.50. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 2,068,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,743,333. This trade represents a 6.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.64, for a total transaction of $492,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 712,823 shares in the company, valued at $17,563,958.72. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,598,756 shares of company stock valued at $70,654,047. 18.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lifeway Foods

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the third quarter valued at $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Lifeway Foods by 577.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 433.3% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in Lifeway Foods by 302.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 2,229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on LWAY. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.33.

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.