Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Buys $760,604.02 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana acquired 36,202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.01 per share, for a total transaction of $760,604.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,401,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,461,649.92. The trade was a 1.53% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Divisadero Street Capital Mana also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, October 6th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana bought 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,040,000.00.
• On Friday, October 2nd, Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 17,482 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.09 per share, for a total transaction of $368,695.38.
• On Monday, August 17th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 35,952 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.78 per share, with a total value of $890,890.56.
• On Friday, August 14th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 15,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.69 per share, with a total value of $370,350.00.
• On Thursday, August 13th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana acquired 195,616 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $4,864,969.92.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

Lifeway Foods stock opened at $21.09 on Friday. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.31 and a fifty-two week high of $32.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market cap of $318.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13 and a beta of 0.47.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.40 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 12.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LWAY. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter worth about $9,614,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $17,459,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,711,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in Lifeway Foods by 167.2% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 124,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,709,000 after purchasing an additional 77,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Investments L P bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,476,000. 36.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lifeway Foods Company Profile

Lifeway Foods, Inc is a food and beverage company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes cultured and probiotic products. The company is best known for Lifeway Kefir, a fermented, cultured milk beverage available in a range of flavors and formulations, including low-fat, nonfat and lactose-free options.

Its product portfolio also includes ProBugs kefir for children, non-dairy kefir, drinkable yogurt, European-style farmer cheese, sour cream and other cultured dairy products.