 In the current session, Lifeway Foods Inc. NASDAQ: LWAY is trading at 3.67, after a 10.7 spike. Over the past month, the stock increased by 22.15, and in the past year, by 45.02. With performance like this, long-term shareholders optimistic but others are more likely to look into the price-to-earnings ratio to see if the stock might be overvalued.Assuming that all other factors are held constant, this could present itself as an opportunity for shareholders trying to capitalize on the higher share price. The stock is currently under from its 52 week high by 3.30.The PE ratio measures the current share price to the companys earnings per share. It is used by long-term investors to analyze the companys current performance against its past earnings, historical data and aggregate market data for the industry or the indices, such as SP 500. A higher PE indicates that investors expect the company to perform better in the future, and the stock is probably overvalued, but not necessarily. It also shows that investors are willing to pay a higher share price currently, because they expect the company to perform better in the upcoming quarters. This leads investors to also remain optimistic about rising dividends in the future.View more earnings on LWAYMost often, an industry will prevail in a particular phase of a business cycle, than other industries.Compared to the aggregate PE ratio of 6.09 in the Packaged Foods industry, Lifeway Foods Inc. has a higher PE ratio of 55.5. Shareholders might be inclined to think that Lifeway Foods Inc. might perform better than its industry group. Its also possible that the stock is overvalued.There are many limitations to price to earnings ratio. It is sometimes difficult to determine the nature of the earnings makeup of a company. Shareholders might not get what theyre looking for, from trailing earnings.See more from Benzinga Price Over Earnings Overview: Lifeway FoodsC 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. 