Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana Purchases 131,871 Shares

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana bought 131,871 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $3,362,710.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 2,068,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,743,333. This represents a 6.81% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Friday, May 15th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana bought 33,174 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.27 per share, with a total value of $838,306.98.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

NASDAQ:LWAY traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $23.80. 287,819 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 127,816. The company has a market capitalization of $363.66 million, a P/E ratio of 24.54 and a beta of 0.53. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.31 and a 12 month high of $34.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.95.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. The firm had revenue of $63.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.80 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 17.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Lifeway Foods by 577.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position 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 lifted 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 worth $71,000 after buying an additional 2,229 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LWAY shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.