Insider Selling: Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) CFO Sells 5,546 Shares of Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) CFO Eric A. Hanson sold 5,546 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.91, for a total transaction of $104,874.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $483,074.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Lifeway Foods Trading Up 0.6 %

LWAY opened at $19.15 on Thursday. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.06 and a twelve month high of $28.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.06 and a 200-day moving average of $15.20. The stock has a market cap of $281.64 million, a PE ratio of 22.27 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.08. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 22.34%. The business had revenue of $49.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lifeway Foods, Inc. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Noble Financial upgraded Lifeway Foods from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Lake Street Capital increased their price target on Lifeway Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Lifeway Foods by 2,334.0% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 4,668 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $82,000. Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $187,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Lifeway Foods during the second quarter worth $267,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the fourth quarter worth $303,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

About Lifeway Foods

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.