Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Announces Earnings Results

Key Points

• Lifeway Foods reported earnings of $0.28 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.10, although revenue fell short of expectations at $53.90 million.
• The company's stock increased by 6.8% following the earnings announcement, reaching $29.50 with significant trading volume of 284,902 shares.
• Insider trading activity included CEO Julie Smolyansky selling 50,000 shares, reducing her ownership by 2.29%, as part of a trend where insiders sold a total of 78,566 shares over the last three months.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.10, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $53.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.00 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 5.49% and a return on equity of 14.32%.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

Shares of Lifeway Foods stock traded down $0.19 on Friday, reaching $29.80. 47,755 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 75,386. Lifeway Foods has a 1-year low of $17.82 and a 1-year high of $31.00. The company has a market cap of $453.76 million, a P/E ratio of 43.19 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $25.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.85.

Insider Transactions at Lifeway Foods

In other news, CEO Julie Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.07, for a total transaction of $1,103,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,132,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,063,899.81. The trade was a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Scott Scher sold 16,366 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.24, for a total value of $396,711.84. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24.24. This represents a 99.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,566 shares of company stock valued at $1,788,672. 18.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LWAY. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 577.3% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Lifeway Foods in the first quarter worth $90,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Lifeway Foods by 70.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,766 shares of the company's stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Lifeway Foods by 8.2% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,068 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Lake Street Capital increased their price target on shares of Lifeway Foods from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lifeway Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday.

Lifeway Foods Company Profile

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.