Wall Street Zen Upgrades Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) to “Buy”

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on LWAY. Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 price target on Lifeway Foods in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.33.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

Lifeway Foods stock opened at $21.98 on Friday. Lifeway Foods has a 1-year low of $19.50 and a 1-year high of $34.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $334.76 million, a P/E ratio of 30.11 and a beta of 0.11. The company’s 50-day moving average is $22.68 and its 200 day moving average is $25.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lifeway Foods

In other Lifeway Foods news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 26,431 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.42, for a total value of $645,445.02. Following the transaction, the insider owned 757,823 shares in the company, valued at $18,506,037.66. The trade was a 3.37% decrease 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 75,000 shares of company stock worth $1,779,895. Corporate insiders own 18.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lifeway Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. purchased a new position in Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $364,000. Towerview LLC boosted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 8.3% in the second quarter. Towerview LLC now owns 78,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,935,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the second quarter worth about $246,000. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. grew its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 55.5% during the second quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 94,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 33,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 1.2% during the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 151,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.