Insider Buying: Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Purchases $4,864,969.92 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana bought 195,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.87 per share, for a total transaction of $4,864,969.92. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,297,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,130,269.72. The trade was a 9.31% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Divisadero Street Capital Mana also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 17th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana bought 35,952 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $24.78 per share, with a total value of $890,890.56.
• On Friday, August 14th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 15,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.69 per share, with a total value of $370,350.00.

Lifeway Foods Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Lifeway Foods stock opened at $25.04 on Thursday. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.31 and a fifty-two week high of $34.20. The firm has a market cap of $378.35 million, a PE ratio of 35.77 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s fifty day moving average is $29.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $66.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.40 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 12.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LWAY. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the first quarter valued at about $90,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 124,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,075,000 after purchasing an additional 7,718 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 293.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 10,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 17,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.