Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on LWAY. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lifeway Foods has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Down 4.1%

NASDAQ LWAY opened at $24.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Lifeway Foods has a 52 week low of $17.31 and a 52 week high of $34.20. The company has a market capitalization of $373.97 million, a P/E ratio of 35.36 and a beta of 0.44.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.25). Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The company had revenue of $66.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.40 million.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 111,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.26, for a total transaction of $3,263,894.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 902,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,411,304.92. This trade represents a 11.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.11, for a total transaction of $3,011,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 507,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,272,002.77. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 246,568 shares of company stock worth $6,126,210 and sold 592,698 shares worth $17,070,367. 18.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LWAY. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 33.5% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Lifeway Foods by 8.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,558,000 after buying an additional 19,035 shares during the last quarter. Steadtrust LLC bought a new position in Lifeway Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $477,000. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. purchased a new position in Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,654,000. 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.