Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Sells $44,956.50 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 2,193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total transaction of $44,956.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,300,341 shares in the company, valued at $26,656,990.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Ludmila Smolyansky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, April 17th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 10,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.04, for a total transaction of $200,400.00.
• On Friday, April 5th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 5,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.56, for a total transaction of $97,800.00.
• On Monday, April 8th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 5,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.40, for a total transaction of $102,000.00.
• On Tuesday, March 26th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 13,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.71, for a total transaction of $243,230.00.
• On Friday, March 22nd, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 3,852 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.80, for a total transaction of $60,861.60.
• On Wednesday, March 20th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 13,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.87, for a total transaction of $167,310.00.
• On Monday, February 26th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 13,542 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.34, for a total transaction of $167,108.28.
• On Thursday, February 8th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 22,747 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.61, for a total transaction of $264,092.67.
• On Tuesday, February 6th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 10,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.84, for a total transaction of $118,400.00.
• On Wednesday, January 24th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 5,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.44, for a total transaction of $67,200.00.

Lifeway Foods Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Lifeway Foods stock traded down $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 129,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 85,987. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.61 and a 52 week high of $23.31. The stock has a market cap of $293.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.39.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $42.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.00 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 7.10% and a return on equity of 20.92%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lifeway Foods, Inc. will post 1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LWAY. Noble Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Lifeway Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 6th. Finally, Lake Street Capital began coverage on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Friday, April 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock.

Institutional Trading of Lifeway Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LWAY. Citigroup Inc. bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Lifeway Foods by 656.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 4,348 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the third quarter valued at $91,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in Lifeway Foods by 12,896.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 16,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 16,765 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

About Lifeway Foods

Lifeway Foods, Inc produces and markets probiotic-based products in the United States and internationally. Its primary product is drinkable kefir, a cultured dairy product in various organic and non-organic sizes, flavors, and types. The company offers European-style soft cheeses; cream and other products; ProBugs, a line of kefir products designed for children; drinkable yogurt; and fresh made butter and sour cream.