Man Group plc Purchases Shares of 23,617 Lifeway Foods, Inc. $LWAY

Man Group plc bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 23,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,000. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.15% of Lifeway Foods at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AWM Investment Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,654,000. De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the second quarter valued at about $1,814,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the second quarter valued at about $9,614,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the second quarter valued at about $758,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the second quarter worth about $26,000. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Freedom Capital upgraded Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Monday, June 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Insider Activity at Lifeway Foods

In other Lifeway Foods news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.11, for a total transaction of $3,011,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 507,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,272,002.77. This represents a 16.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 35,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.78 per share, for a total transaction of $890,890.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,348,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,186,116.24. This represents a 1.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 248,568 shares of company stock valued at $6,176,730 and have sold 592,698 shares valued at $17,070,367. Company insiders own 18.58% of the company’s stock.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

Shares of Lifeway Foods stock opened at $25.66 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.02 and a 200 day moving average of $25.46. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.31 and a 52 week high of $34.20. The company has a market cap of $387.72 million, a PE ratio of 36.66 and a beta of 0.44. 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 (NASDAQ:LWAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.40 million.

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.