Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Edward Smolyansky Sells 7,984 Shares

Key Points

• Major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 7,984 shares of Lifeway Foods on July 6 at an average price of $29.79, reducing his ownership by 0.71%. The filing also notes several other recent insider sales by Smolyansky in late June and July.
• Lifeway Foods stock rose 2.0% to $30.91 during Thursday trading, with the company now valued at about $472.3 million. The shares have traded between $17.31 and $34.20 over the past 52 weeks.
• The company’s latest earnings beat revenue expectations and matched EPS estimates, reporting $0.30 per share on $63.01 million in revenue. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $34.33.

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 7,984 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.79, for a total value of $237,843.36. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,110,807 shares in the company, valued at $33,090,940.53. This trade represents a 0.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Tuesday, July 7th, Edward Smolyansky sold 39,098 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.41, for a total value of $1,149,872.18.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.56, for a total transaction of $1,478,000.00.
• On Friday, June 26th, Edward Smolyansky sold 111,548 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.26, for a total transaction of $3,263,894.48.
• On Wednesday, June 24th, Edward Smolyansky sold 38,452 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.85, for a total transaction of $1,147,792.20.
• On Monday, June 22nd, Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $1,310,000.00.
• On Friday, May 15th, Edward Smolyansky sold 24,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.87, for a total transaction of $596,880.00.
• On Thursday, May 14th, Edward Smolyansky sold 25,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.34, for a total transaction of $633,500.00.

Lifeway Foods Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of LWAY traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $30.91. The company had a trading volume of 110,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,396. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.31 and a fifty-two week high of $34.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.69. The stock has a market cap of $472.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30. The business had revenue of $63.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.80 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 6.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lifeway Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lifeway Foods from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Monday, June 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lifeway Foods currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.33.

Institutional Trading of Lifeway Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Lifeway Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $17,494,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Lifeway Foods by 8.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,710 shares of the company's stock worth $4,558,000 after buying an additional 19,035 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in Lifeway Foods by 33.5% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 214,650 shares of the company's stock worth $4,151,000 after buying an additional 53,900 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its stake in Lifeway Foods by 73.0% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 163,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,958,000 after buying an additional 68,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Slotnik Capital LLC lifted its stake in Lifeway Foods by 9.2% in the third quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC now owns 141,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,935,000 after buying an additional 11,921 shares during the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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