Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Sells $1,005,900.00 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.74, for a total value of $1,005,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 969,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,871,850.82. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Friday, August 14th, Edward Smolyansky sold 75,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.45, for a total value of $1,908,750.00.
• On Tuesday, July 7th, Edward Smolyansky sold 39,098 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.41, for a total value of $1,149,872.18.
• On Monday, July 6th, Edward Smolyansky sold 7,984 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.79, for a total value of $237,843.36.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.56, for a total transaction of $1,478,000.00.
• On Friday, June 26th, Edward Smolyansky sold 111,548 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.26, for a total transaction of $3,263,894.48.
• On Wednesday, June 24th, Edward Smolyansky sold 38,452 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.85, for a total value of $1,147,792.20.
• On Monday, June 22nd, Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $1,310,000.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LWAY opened at $25.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.09. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.31 and a fifty-two week high of $34.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.06. The company has a market capitalization of $390.14 million, a PE ratio of 36.89 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LWAY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.00.

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.