Ludmila Smolyansky Sells 14,620 Shares of Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 14,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total transaction of $179,826.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,125,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,839,135.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Monday, May 6th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 5,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.78, for a total value of $133,900.00.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

NASDAQ:LWAY opened at $12.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $5.91 and a one year high of $28.61. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $13.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.09. The stock has a market cap of $177.66 million, a P/E ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 1.01.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 14th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.08). Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 22.34%. The company had revenue of $44.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.06 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Lifeway Foods, Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 14,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $303,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 235,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,153,000 after buying an additional 31,813 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $187,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 656.8% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 4,348 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LWAY shares. Lake Street Capital upped their price target on Lifeway Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. StockNews.com raised Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 8th. Finally, Noble Financial raised Lifeway Foods from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th.

Lifeway Foods Company Profile

Lifeway Foods, Inc produces and markets probiotic-based products in the United States and internationally. Its primary product is drinkable kefir, a cultured dairy product in various organic and non-organic sizes, flavors, and types. The company offers European-style soft cheeses; cream and other products; ProBugs, a line of kefir products designed for children; drinkable yogurt; and fresh made butter and sour cream.