Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) Short Interest Up 18.1% in April

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) saw a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 278,205 shares, an increase of 18.1% from the March 31st total of 235,574 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 100,237 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Lifeway Foods

In other Lifeway Foods news, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 22,313 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.10, for a total value of $448,491.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,115,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,431,499.50. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total transaction of $397,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 732,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,419,809.50. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,563,125. 18.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $17,494,000. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,041,000. Ionic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $500,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 151,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teton Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LWAY has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 price target on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.33.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ LWAY traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.10. 60,740 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 63,878. Lifeway Foods has a 1-year low of $17.31 and a 1-year high of $34.20. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $410.57 million, a PE ratio of 30.11 and a beta of 0.53.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $55.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.00 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.52%.

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.