Short Interest in Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) Declines By 20.1%

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 106,400 shares, a decrease of 20.1% from the March 15th total of 133,100 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 84,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lifeway Foods news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 11,459 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total transaction of $155,154.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,413,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,136,461.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Lifeway Foods news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 11,459 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total transaction of $155,154.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,413,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,136,461.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pol Sikar sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.19, for a total value of $171,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $407,523.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 145,159 shares of company stock worth $2,219,874. 31.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LWAY. Citigroup Inc. purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 656.8% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,010 shares of the company's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 4,348 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $91,000. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 12,896.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 16,895 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 16,765 shares during the last quarter. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lifeway Foods Trading Down 1.6 %

LWAY stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $20.68. 105,472 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 173,295. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.79 million, a PE ratio of 27.21 and a beta of 1.33. Lifeway Foods has a 1-year low of $5.61 and a 1-year high of $23.31.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 20.92% and a net margin of 7.10%. The company had revenue of $42.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.00 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lifeway Foods will post 1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LWAY shares. Noble Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. StockNews.com cut Lifeway Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 6th. Finally, Lake Street Capital started coverage on Lifeway Foods in a report on Friday, April 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company.

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.