In the current market session, Lifeway Foods Inc. LWAY is trading at $2.48, after a 1.43% spike. However, over the past month, the stock fell by 0.40%, and in the past year, by 31.06%. Shareholders might be interested in knowing whether the stock is undervalued, even if the company is performing up to par in the current session.

The stock is currently above from its 52 week low by 73.08%. Assuming that all other factors are held constant, this could present itself as an opportunity for investors trying to diversify their portfolio with Packaged Foods stocks, and capitalize on the lower share price observed over the year.

The P/E ratio is used by long-term shareholders to assess the company’s market performance against aggregate market data, historical earnings, and the industry at large. A lower P/E indicates that shareholders do not expect the stock to perform better in the future, and that the company is probably undervalued. It shows that shareholders are less than willing to pay a high share price, because they do not expect the company to exhibit growth, in terms of future earnings.

Depending on the particular phase of a business cycle, some industries will perform better than others.

Compared to the aggregate P/E ratio of 4.21 in the Packaged Foods industry, Lifeway Foods Inc. has a higher P/E ratio of 81.0. Shareholders might be inclined to think that Lifeway Foods Inc. might perform better than its industry group. It’s also possible that the stock is overvalued.

price to earnings ratio is not always a great indicator of the company's performance. Depending on the earnings makeup of a company, investors may not be able to attain key insights from trailing earnings.