60,732 Shares in Lifeway Foods, Inc. $LWAY Acquired by De Lisle Partners LLP

De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new position in Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 60,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LWAY. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 577.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 302.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LWAY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings cut Lifeway Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Lifeway Foods in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Freedom Capital raised Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Monday, June 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Lifeway Foods stock opened at $25.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.09. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.31 and a 52-week high of $34.20. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $391.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.04 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Julie Smolyansky acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.26 per share, for a total transaction of $50,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,214,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,928,039.70. The trade was a 0.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana acquired 35,952 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.78 per share, with a total value of $890,890.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 2,348,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,186,116.24. The trade was a 1.55% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 248,568 shares of company stock worth $6,176,730 and sold 592,698 shares worth $17,070,367. Insiders own 18.58% 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.