Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Sells $397,500.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Ludmila Smolyansky, a major shareholder, sold 15,000 shares of Lifeway Foods on April 20 at $26.50 per share for $397,500, trimming her stake by 2.01% to 732,823 shares (≈$19.42M).
• Lifeway missed quarterly EPS (reported $0.16 vs. $0.29 expected) though revenue was $55.36M; the company has a market cap of about $399M, a P/E of 29.27, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $34.33.

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total value of $397,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 732,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,419,809.50. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Wednesday, March 18th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 10,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.74, for a total value of $187,400.00.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

NASDAQ LWAY traded down $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $26.34. 54,252 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 82,629. The company's 50 day moving average price is $21.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $399.05 million, a P/E ratio of 29.27 and a beta of 0.23. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.31 and a twelve month high of $34.20.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 17th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $55.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.00 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Lifeway Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $90,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 6.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 124,726 shares of the company's stock worth $3,075,000 after buying an additional 7,718 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 293.6% in the second 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 holdings in Lifeway Foods by 6.8% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LWAY. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Friday, March 27th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lifeway Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 target price on Lifeway Foods in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.33.

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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