Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at BTIG Research

Key Points

• BTIG Research upgraded Lifeway Foods to “strong buy.” The stock has a consensus “buy” rating and a consensus price target of $34.00, although analyst opinions range from strong buy to sell.
• Lifeway Foods reported quarterly revenue of $66.89 million, above the $61.40 million consensus estimate, but earnings per share of $0.01 missed expectations by $0.25.
• Insider activity was mixed: a major shareholder purchased nearly $891,000 of stock, while another major shareholder sold $3.01 million worth. Institutional investors own 36.39% of the company.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at BTIG Research to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Monday, June 15th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Lifeway Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lifeway Foods from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lifeway Foods from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lifeway Foods presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

Lifeway Foods stock opened at $25.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market cap of $391.50 million, a P/E ratio of 37.01 and a beta of 0.44. The business's fifty day moving average is $29.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.15. Lifeway Foods has a 52 week low of $17.31 and a 52 week high of $34.20.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.25). Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 4.48%.The business had revenue of $66.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.40 million.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana purchased 35,952 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $24.78 per share, with a total value of $890,890.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,348,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,186,116.24. This trade represents a 1.55% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.11, for a total value of $3,011,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 507,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,272,002.77. This represents a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders acquired 248,568 shares of company stock worth $6,176,730 and sold 592,698 shares worth $17,070,367. 18.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LWAY. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the second quarter worth $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the third quarter valued at $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 577.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 302.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,967 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% of the company's stock.

Lifeway Foods Company Profile

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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