Ludmila Smolyansky Sells 45,616 Shares of Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 45,616 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $1,352,514.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 607,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,003,687.55. The trade was a 6.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Wednesday, June 24th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 40,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.12, for a total transaction of $1,204,800.00.
• On Friday, May 15th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 20,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.64, for a total transaction of $492,800.00.
• On Monday, April 20th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 15,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total value of $397,500.00.

Lifeway Foods Trading Down 3.1%

NASDAQ:LWAY opened at $29.39 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $25.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $449.08 million, a PE ratio of 30.30 and a beta of 0.48. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.31 and a 12 month high of $34.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.56.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $63.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.80 million.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on LWAY shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LWAY. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $17,494,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,984,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 260.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 101,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,812,000 after buying an additional 73,203 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 73.0% during the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 163,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,958,000 after buying an additional 68,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 33.5% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 214,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,000 after buying an additional 53,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

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.