Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

LWAY has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 price target on Lifeway Foods in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.33.

Lifeway Foods Stock Up 0.5%

Lifeway Foods stock opened at $21.98 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.68 and a 200-day moving average of $25.53. Lifeway Foods has a twelve month low of $19.50 and a twelve month high of $34.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $334.73 million, a PE ratio of 30.11 and a beta of 0.11.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $57.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.00 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 5.47% and a return on equity of 14.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lifeway Foods

In other Lifeway Foods news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 26,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.42, for a total transaction of $645,445.02. Following the transaction, the insider owned 757,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,506,037.66. The trade was a 3.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 75,000 shares of company stock worth $1,779,895. 18.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the third quarter valued at $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,322 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Lifeway Foods by 433.3% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Lifeway Foods by 302.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229 shares during the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lifeway Foods Company Profile

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.