Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $22.99 and traded as high as $24.01. Lifeway Foods shares last traded at $23.60, with a volume of 121,759 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded 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 note on Saturday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lifeway Foods has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.33.

Lifeway Foods Stock Up 1.4%

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 cap of $360.61 million, a P/E ratio of 24.33 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.99.

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

Insider Transactions at Lifeway Foods

In other news, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.34, for a total transaction of $633,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,076,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,282,108.28. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana bought 131,871 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $3,362,710.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 2,068,366 shares in the company, valued at $52,743,333. This represents a 6.81% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 3,598,756 shares of company stock worth $70,654,047 over the last quarter. 18.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lifeway Foods

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Carlson Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 1st quarter worth $193,000. Vivaldi Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 1st quarter worth $213,000. Teton Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 1st quarter worth $193,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 214,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,000 after purchasing an additional 53,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.