Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 target price on Lifeway Foods in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.33.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ LWAY opened at $17.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $269.67 million, a PE ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 0.13. Lifeway Foods has a 52-week low of $17.31 and a 52-week high of $34.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.16.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.13). Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 17.25%. The company had revenue of $55.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.00 million.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.74, for a total value of $187,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 747,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,014,203.02. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 14,353 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.77, for a total transaction of $255,052.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,101,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,576,178.34. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 86,431 shares of company stock worth $1,811,070 over the last 90 days. 18.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LWAY. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $17,494,000. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,041,000. Carlson Capital L.P. purchased a new position in Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $246,000. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. increased its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 55.5% during the second quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 94,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after buying an additional 33,800 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.