Insider Selling: Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Sells $131,600.00 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.32, for a total value of $131,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 842,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,183,101.36. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Wednesday, October 8th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 10,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.44, for a total value of $264,400.00.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

LWAY opened at $25.98 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.88. The company has a market capitalization of $395.60 million, a PE ratio of 37.65 and a beta of 0.46. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.50 and a 1 year high of $34.20.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $53.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.00 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 5.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 577.3% during 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. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 70.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 1,976 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $212,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can raised its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 82.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can now owns 31,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 14,251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on LWAY. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on Lifeway Foods from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

About Lifeway Foods

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.