Covestor Ltd Takes $50,000 Position in Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY)

Covestor Ltd acquired a new position in Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 1,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 7.1% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 454,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,806,000 after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Lifeway Foods by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 246,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,244,000 after acquiring an additional 11,383 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 109,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 30,100 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 48.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 100,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 32,742 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 56.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 58,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 21,168 shares during the period. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Noble Financial lowered shares of Lifeway Foods from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Lifeway Foods in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lifeway Foods

In other news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 4,584 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $89,617.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,085,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,222,482.95. This trade represents a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 18.86% of the company’s stock.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

Shares of LWAY opened at $22.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $331.15 million, a PE ratio of 24.88 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $24.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.86. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.93 and a twelve month high of $28.61.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $49.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.50 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 7.69% and a return on equity of 21.92%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lifeway Foods, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.