Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana Buys 195,616 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana increased its Lifeway Foods stake by 195,616 shares, spending approximately $4.86 million at an average price of $24.87 per share. The shareholder subsequently owned 2.30 million shares, and also made additional purchases on August 14 and 17.
• Lifeway Foods shares fell 4.1% to $24.75, while the company reported mixed quarterly results: revenue of $66.89 million exceeded estimates, but adjusted EPS of $0.01 missed expectations by $0.25.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with ratings ranging from Sell to Buy and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating; the average analyst price target is $35.00.

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana acquired 195,616 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $4,864,969.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,297,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,130,269.72. The trade was a 9.31% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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.

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

• On Monday, August 17th, Divisadero Street Capital Mana acquired 35,952 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were 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 bought 15,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.69 per share, with a total value of $370,350.00.

Lifeway Foods Trading Down 4.1%

NASDAQ:LWAY traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $24.75. 297,744 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 151,718. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.31 and a twelve month high of $34.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $29.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.07. The company has a market capitalization of $373.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $66.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $61.40 million.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the first quarter worth about $90,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 124,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,075,000 after purchasing an additional 7,718 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Lifeway Foods by 293.6% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,472 shares of the company's stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 10,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Lifeway Foods by 6.8% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 17,178 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LWAY. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lifeway Foods from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lifeway Foods from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Monday, June 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.00.

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.

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