S.A. Danone Sells 3,454,756 Shares of Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder S.A. Danone sold 3,454,756 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $67,367,742.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Lifeway Foods Trading Down 1.6%

LWAY opened at $25.11 on Friday. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.31 and a 12 month high of $34.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $383.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $23.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.97.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 6.54%.The firm had revenue of $63.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.80 million.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lifeway Foods has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.33.

Institutional Trading of Lifeway Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Lifeway Foods by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Lifeway Foods by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its stake in Lifeway Foods by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its stake in Lifeway Foods by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 16,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.