Fact based stock research
Lifeway Foods (NasdaqGM:LWAY)

US5319141090

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

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Lifeway Foods stock research in summary

lifewaykefir.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 84 (better than 84% compared with investment alternatives), Lifeway Foods (Packaged Foods & Meats, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of Lifeway Foods are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 11 (worse than 89% of alternatives). But they show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 93) and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 90, which means below-average debt burdens). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 84, is a strong buy recommendation based on Lifeway Foods's financial characteristics. Investors looking for growth and low financial risk may find this stock attractive. While the company Lifeway Foods exhibits low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 11), which means that the stock price is rather high, it also demonstrates above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 93). This is a typical case, as high-growth companies are often expensive. Good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 90) are a double-edged sword: if the company continues growing, low debt limits shareholder returns. But if the company increases its debt, it will also increase risk. In other words, this is an investment on the safer side, despite the above-average price (low value). Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	11
Growth Rank	93
Safety Rank	90
Combined Rank	84

Country	USA
Industry	Packaged Foods & Meats
Index	NASDAQ
Size class	Small

26-Dec-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: Lifeway Foods

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	63	69	46	11
GROWTH
GROWTH	70	81	93	93
SAFETY
SAFETY	46	100	76	90
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	59	76	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	93	96	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 26-Dec-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Sep-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Lifeway Foods is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	63	69	46	11
GROWTH
GROWTH	70	81	93	93
SAFETY
SAFETY	46	100	76	90
COMBINED
COMBINED	67	98	96	84

Last update of combined financial performance: 26-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Lifeway Foods the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 11 (worse than 89% compared with alternatives), Lifeway Foods shares are significantly more expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four indicators below average for Lifeway Foods. Price-to-Sales is 42 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 58% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Lifeway Foods's sales levels. Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) also has a low Price-to-Book Rank of 28, which means that both reliable company size indicators, sales, and invested capital cannot explain the high stock price of Lifeway Foods. In addition, the two profit-related value indicators, Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) with a low rank of 24 and Dividend Yield, which is lower than 99% of comparable companies, also make the stock more expensive compared with investment alternatives. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 11, is a sell recommendation based on Lifeway Foods's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. How can market participants pay such a high price for Lifeway Foods? One reason may be that the company is simply too popular. If enough people want a particular stock, its price can exceed reasonable levels. This is often the case for companies offering new and exciting products and everybody wants a piece of the action. Should you pay a lot for a hot stock such as Lifeway Foods? It's risky, and even if the stock price continues to grow because of popular demand, it may return to more typical lower levels later. And that return can be sudden and quick, making it impossible for retail investors to exit on time. Sometimes, high prices are deserved. This is the case when it is justified to believe that the company will dominate a market with high profit margins. It has happened in the past for many technology companies and indeed for commercially successful pharmaceutical discoveries. Sometimes they last, sometimes, they get eaten alive. Lifeway Foods may be such a type of stock. That would mean, retail investors should be careful, only considering investing a small part of their wealth in this exciting category and always being ready to lose more than half, if not all of the investment. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is essential in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	80	92	60	42
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	70	67	74	24
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	74	76	43	28
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	1	1	1	1
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	63	69	46	11

Last update of Value Rank: 26-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Lifeway Foods; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 93 (better than 93% compared with alternatives) for 2024, Lifeway Foods shows one of the highest growth dynamics in its industry. Investors also speak of high momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four indicators above average for Lifeway Foods. Sales Growth has a value of 94, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 94% of its competitors. The same is valid for Profit Growth with a value of 58 and for Capital Growth with 51. In addition, Stock Returns had an above-average rank value of 97, which means they have been higher than 97% of comparable investments. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 93, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Since all Growth Ranks are positive, Lifeway Foods exhibits above-average growth momentum. This could be due to a uniquely strong market position, proprietary technology, or an extensive corporate acquisition strategy. Growth investors will find this an attractive investment opportunity, unless they expect that the current phase is transitory and will deteriorate in the future. The current performance could also be a temporary recovery from a very low point, such as a turn-around situation. In the case of a turn-around, the current performance may or may not be followed by a continuing positive development. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	56	63	70	94
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	20	98	98	58
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	69	61	51
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	62	29	100	97
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	70	81	93	93

Last update of Growth Rank: 26-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Lifeway Foods.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 90 (better than 90% compared with alternatives) for 2024, the company Lifeway Foods has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of Lifeway Foods is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above average for Lifeway Foods. Leverage is at a rank of 88, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 88% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 90, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 90% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 47, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 53% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 90 (better than 90% compared with alternatives), Lifeway Foods has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for Lifeway Foods. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. Investors may have a short-term debt challenge with Lifeway Foods and should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	78	86	82	88
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	54	81	54	47
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	15	94	61	90
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	46	100	76	90

Last update of Safety Rank: 26-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Lifeway Foods and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2021	2022	2023	2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	81	17	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	50	50	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	26	96	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	90	77	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	59	76	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 26-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Lifeway Foods.
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