Lifeway Foods (LWAY) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. It sells its products under the Lifeway, GlenOaks Farms, and Fresh Made brand names, as well as under private labels on behalf of customers primarily through direct sales force, brokers, and distributors. Lifeway Foods, Inc. was incorporated in 1986 and is based in Morton Grove, Illinois.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $26.25 to $26.74
• 50-Day Range: $18.48 to $26.73
• 52-Week Range: $9.06 to $28.61
• Volume: 45,151 shs
• Average Volume: 145,447 shs
• Market Capitalization: $393.59 million
• P/E Ratio: 29.57
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $26.50
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Lifeway Foods Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Lifeway Foods scored higher than 53% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 84th out of 143 stocks in the consumer staples sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Lifeway Foods has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.50, and is based on 1 buy rating, 1 hold rating, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Lifeway Foods has only been the subject of 1 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 54.55%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Lifeway Foods are expected to grow by 54.55% in the coming year, from $0.99 to $1.53 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Lifeway Foods is 29.57, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 133.07.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Lifeway Foods is 29.57, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Consumer Staples sector average P/E ratio of about 21.43.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Lifeway Foods has a P/B Ratio of 6.47. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 5.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

3.84% of the float of Lifeway Foods has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Lifeway Foods has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 1.1, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Lifeway Foods has recently decreased by 32.59%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Weak

Dividend Yield

Lifeway Foods does not currently pay a dividend.

Dividend Growth

Lifeway Foods does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Lifeway Foods is 8.89%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Lifeway Foods will have a dividend payout ratio of 5.23% next year. This indicates that Lifeway Foods will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

3.84% of the float of Lifeway Foods has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Lifeway Foods has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 1.1, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Lifeway Foods has recently decreased by 32.59%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 1.5 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.70

News Sentiment

Lifeway Foods has a news sentiment score of 0.70. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This news sentiment score is similar to the average news sentiment of Consumer Staples companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 2 news articles for Lifeway Foods this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 1 people have searched for LWAY on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -75% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

Only 3 people have added Lifeway Foods to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -40% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Lifeway Foods insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $707,786.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

18.86% of the stock of Lifeway Foods is held by insiders. A high percentage of insider ownership can be a sign of company health.

Percentage Held by Institutions

Only 36.39% of the stock of Lifeway Foods is held by institutions.

LWAY Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have LWAY shares performed this year?

Lifeway Foods' stock was trading at $13.41 at the beginning of the year. Since then, LWAY shares have increased by 98.4% and is now trading at $26.61.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here.

How were Lifeway Foods' earnings last quarter?

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August, 13th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.08. The company earned $49.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.50 million. Lifeway Foods had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 7.69%.

Who are Lifeway Foods' major shareholders?

Lifeway Foods' top institutional investors include Harbour Capital Advisors LLC (0.10%) and Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. (0.06%). Insiders that own company stock include Julie Smolyansky, Edward Smolyansky, Ludmila Smolyansky, Eric A Hanson, Pol Sikar and Amy M Feldman.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Lifeway Foods?

Shares of LWAY stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

What other stocks do shareholders of Lifeway Foods own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Lifeway Foods investors own include NVIDIA (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO), Arista Networks (ANET), Meta Platforms (META), e.l.f. Beauty (ELF), Adobe (ADBE) and Jabil (JBL).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 8/13/2024
• Today: 10/31/2024
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 11/11/2024
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2024

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Consumer Staples
• Industry: Dairy products
• Sub-Industry: Packaged Foods & Meats
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:LWAY
• CUSIP: 53191410
• CIK: 814586
• Web: www.lifewaykefir.com
• Phone: (847) 967-1010
• Fax: 847-967-6558
• Employees: 280
• Year Founded: 1986

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $26.50
• High Stock Price Target: $28.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $25.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: -0.4%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.50
• Research Coverage: 2 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $0.90
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 29.57
• Forward P/E Ratio: 26.88
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $11.37 million
• Net Margins: 7.69%
• Pretax Margin: 11.03%
• Return on Equity: 21.92%
• Return on Assets: 16.50%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: N/A
• Current Ratio: 2.83
• Quick Ratio: 2.22

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $176.78 million
• Price / Sales: 2.23
• Cash Flow: $0.99 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 26.77
• Book Value: $4.11 per share
• Price / Book: 6.47

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 14,791,000
• Free Float: 12,001,000
• Market Cap: $393.59 million
• Optionable: Not Optionable
• Beta: 1.04