Divisadero Street Capital Mana Buys 131,871 Shares of Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana acquired 131,871 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $3,362,710.50. Following the purchase, the insider owned 2,068,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,743,333. This trade represents a 6.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Divisadero Street Capital Mana also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 15th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana bought 33,174 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.27 per share, with a total value of $838,306.98.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ LWAY traded down $0.41 on Monday, hitting $23.80. The stock had a trading volume of 287,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,816. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $17.31 and a one year high of $34.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $363.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $23.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.95.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last posted 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 net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The firm had revenue of $63.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.80 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 577.3% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,322 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 433.3% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 302.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 2,229 shares in the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.