Noble Financial Downgrades Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) to Market Perform

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) was downgraded by Noble Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 8th.

Lifeway Foods Trading Down 1.0 %

LWAY stock opened at $26.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $386.79 million, a PE ratio of 30.58 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.84. Lifeway Foods has a 1-year low of $9.06 and a 1-year high of $28.61.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $49.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.50 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 7.69%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Lifeway Foods will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lifeway Foods

In related news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 14,620 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total value of $179,826.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,125,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,839,135.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Lifeway Foods news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 14,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total value of $179,826.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,125,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,839,135.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Amy M. Feldman sold 12,948 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.57, for a total transaction of $240,444.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $336,191.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,698 shares of company stock valued at $887,612 over the last ninety days. 31.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LWAY. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Lifeway Foods by 2,334.0% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the second quarter valued at about $82,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 4.8% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 246,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,244,000 after purchasing an additional 11,383 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter worth about $253,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $267,000. Institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s 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.