Bailard Inc. Takes $253,000 Position in Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY)

Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 19,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $253,000. Bailard Inc. owned about 0.13% of Lifeway Foods at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LWAY. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 235,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,153,000 after buying an additional 31,813 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 30,100 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $303,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 21,168 shares during the period. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 37,181 shares of the company's stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 12,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 36.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LWAY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on shares of Lifeway Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Noble Financial upgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $20.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Lifeway Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lifeway Foods news, VP Amy M. Feldman sold 12,948 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 18,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $336,191.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Lifeway Foods news, CFO Eric A. Hanson sold 5,546 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.91, for a total transaction of $104,874.86. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $483,074.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Amy M. Feldman sold 12,948 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.57, for a total transaction of $240,444.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,104 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $336,191.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,114 shares of company stock worth $525,145. Corporate insiders own 31.77% of the company's stock.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

Lifeway Foods stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 96,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 148,259. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $280.17 million, a P/E ratio of 22.15 and a beta of 1.01. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.06 and a twelve month high of $28.61. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $13.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.43.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 22.34%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.21 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Lifeway Foods, Inc. will post 0.8 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.