Edward Smolyansky Sells 50,000 Shares of Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.56, for a total transaction of $1,478,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 852,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,204,097.52. The trade was a 5.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Friday, June 26th, Edward Smolyansky sold 111,548 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.26, for a total transaction of $3,263,894.48.
• On Wednesday, June 24th, Edward Smolyansky sold 38,452 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.85, for a total transaction of $1,147,792.20.
• On Monday, June 22nd, Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $1,310,000.00.
• On Friday, May 15th, Edward Smolyansky sold 24,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.87, for a total value of $596,880.00.
• On Thursday, May 14th, Edward Smolyansky sold 25,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.34, for a total value of $633,500.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

Shares of LWAY stock opened at $30.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $472.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90 and a beta of 0.45. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.31 and a 12-month high of $34.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $25.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.51.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the third quarter worth $17,494,000. Ionic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Lifeway Foods during the third quarter worth $500,000. Slotnik Capital LLC increased its position in Lifeway Foods by 9.2% during the third quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC now owns 141,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,935,000 after acquiring an additional 11,921 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 1.2% in the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 151,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Finally, Teton Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 3rd quarter worth about $225,000. Institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

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.