Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Edward Smolyansky Sells 25,000 Shares

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.34, for a total transaction of $633,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,076,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,282,108.28. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Edward Smolyansky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 15th, Edward Smolyansky sold 24,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.87, for a total transaction of $596,880.00.
• On Thursday, March 19th, Edward Smolyansky sold 14,353 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.77, for a total transaction of $255,052.81.
• On Tuesday, March 17th, Edward Smolyansky sold 22,313 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.10, for a total transaction of $448,491.30.
• On Monday, March 16th, Edward Smolyansky sold 13,334 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.60, for a total transaction of $274,680.40.

Lifeway Foods Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:LWAY traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $23.80. 287,819 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 75,706. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $363.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54 and a beta of 0.53. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.31 and a 52-week high of $34.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.96.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $63.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.80 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 17.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Lifeway Foods in the third quarter valued at about $17,494,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Lifeway Foods by 8.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,558,000 after purchasing an additional 19,035 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in Lifeway Foods by 33.5% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 214,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,151,000 after purchasing an additional 53,900 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its position in Lifeway Foods by 73.0% in 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 during the period. Finally, Slotnik Capital LLC raised its position in Lifeway Foods by 9.2% in the third quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC now owns 141,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,935,000 after purchasing an additional 11,921 shares during the period. 36.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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.