Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Sunday morning.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Noble Financial raised their price target on Lifeway Foods from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on Lifeway Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

Lifeway Foods stock opened at $20.59 on Friday. Lifeway Foods has a one year low of $9.06 and a one year high of $28.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.99. The company has a market cap of $304.53 million, a P/E ratio of 23.94 and a beta of 1.01.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $49.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.50 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 7.69%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Lifeway Foods will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 14,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total value of $179,826.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,125,133 shares in the company, valued at $13,839,135.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 14,620 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total value of $179,826.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,125,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,839,135.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Amy M. Feldman sold 12,948 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.57, for a total value of $240,444.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $336,191.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,698 shares of company stock worth $887,612. 31.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LWAY. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Lifeway Foods by 2,334.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 4,668 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $82,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Lifeway Foods by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 246,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,244,000 after buying an additional 11,383 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its position in Lifeway Foods by 53.6% in the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 37,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 12,981 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $253,000. 36.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.