Short Interest in Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) Drops By 23.6%

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 136,300 shares, a drop of 23.6% from the October 15th total of 178,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 160,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Activity at Lifeway Foods

In other news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 15,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.19, for a total transaction of $272,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,110,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,193,319.27. The trade was a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 18.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lifeway Foods

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 4,668 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 40.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Noble Financial downgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Lifeway Foods Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of Lifeway Foods stock traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $23.56. The stock had a trading volume of 285,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,313. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $24.82 and its 200 day moving average is $18.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $348.45 million, a PE ratio of 26.18 and a beta of 1.05. Lifeway Foods has a twelve month low of $9.93 and a twelve month high of $28.61.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.08. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 7.69% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The company had revenue of $49.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lifeway Foods will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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.