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

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) CEO Julie Smolyansky purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.26 per share, for a total transaction of $50,520.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 2,214,095 shares in the company, valued at $55,928,039.70. This trade represents a 0.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LWAY traded down $0.41 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.04. 210,987 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 118,381. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.31 and a 12 month high of $34.20. The firm has a market cap of $378.28 million, a PE ratio of 35.77 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $66.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.40 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 4.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LWAY. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Freedom Capital upgraded Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lifeway Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Institutional Trading of Lifeway Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $17,459,000. Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,704,597,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $1,140,000. Man Group plc bought a new position in Lifeway Foods during the second quarter valued at about $705,000. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the second quarter worth about $6,654,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

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.