Man Group plc Acquires New Shares in Lifeway Foods, Inc. $LWAY

Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 23,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LWAY. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the second quarter worth approximately $9,614,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,558,000 after purchasing an additional 19,035 shares in the last quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter worth $6,654,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 214,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,000 after purchasing an additional 53,900 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its position in Lifeway Foods by 73.0% during the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 163,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,958,000 after purchasing an additional 68,956 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lifeway Foods news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.11, for a total value of $3,011,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 507,207 shares in the company, valued at $15,272,002.77. This represents a 16.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 111,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.26, for a total transaction of $3,263,894.48. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 902,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,411,304.92. This trade represents a 11.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 248,568 shares of company stock valued at $6,176,730 and have sold 592,698 shares valued at $17,070,367. 18.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on LWAY shares. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Lifeway Foods in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Freedom Capital upgraded Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lifeway Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

NASDAQ:LWAY opened at $25.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.46. The stock has a market cap of $387.72 million, a PE ratio of 36.66 and a beta of 0.44. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.31 and a 52 week high of $34.20.

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

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.