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

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 136,300 shares, a decrease 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 currently 0.9 days. Approximately 2.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.19, for a total value of $272,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,110,133 shares in the company, valued at $20,193,319.27. This trade represents a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 18.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Lifeway Foods by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 246,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,244,000 after buying an additional 11,383 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 37.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position 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 valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 21,168 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the second quarter valued at about $253,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the second quarter valued at about $267,000. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

LWAY stock traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.56. 285,246 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 145,313. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $24.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.89. Lifeway Foods has a 12 month low of $9.93 and a 12 month high of $28.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $348.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LWAY. Noble Financial lowered Lifeway Foods from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com began coverage on Lifeway Foods in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

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.