Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $24.27 and traded as high as $31.05. Lifeway Foods shares last traded at $30.44, with a volume of 87,532 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LWAY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.33.

Lifeway Foods Stock Up 0.4%

The stock has a market cap of $465.12 million, a P/E ratio of 31.38 and a beta of 0.45. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $27.38 and its 200 day moving average is $24.27.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder S.A. Danone sold 3,454,756 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total transaction of $67,367,742.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana bought 131,871 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $3,362,710.50. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 2,068,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,743,333. The trade was a 6.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,906,454 shares of company stock worth $80,235,639 over the last quarter. 18.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LWAY. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Lifeway Foods by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Lifeway Foods by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the period. State of Wyoming increased 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 during the period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 16,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.