Analysts Set Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) PT at $162.50

Shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $162.50.

HWKN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research raised Hawkins from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Hawkins in a report on Thursday, January 29th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James A. Faulconbridge purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $129.29 per share, with a total value of $193,935.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 50,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,581,766.03. This represents a 3.04% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWKN. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Hawkins by 618.8% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 355,619 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $64,979,000 after acquiring an additional 306,143 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hawkins in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,098,000. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in Hawkins by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 552,419 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $78,477,000 after purchasing an additional 131,850 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Hawkins by 44.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 407,793 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $74,512,000 after purchasing an additional 125,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Hawkins by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,067,451 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 111,318 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

Hawkins Stock Down 0.9%

HWKN stock opened at $148.84 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.27. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.46. Hawkins has a 12 month low of $100.34 and a 12 month high of $186.15.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $244.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $252.51 million. Hawkins had a return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 7.75%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hawkins will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Hawkins’s payout ratio is 19.24%.

Hawkins Company Profile

Hawkins, Inc (NASDAQ: HWKN) is a specialty chemical company that produces and distributes water-treatment and industrial chemicals across North America. Founded in 1938 and headquartered in Roseville, Minnesota, the company has built a network of manufacturing facilities and distribution centers that serve municipal, industrial and commercial customers. As a publicly traded entity, Hawkins leverages its long-standing presence in the chemical distribution industry to provide tailored solutions for complex water-treatment challenges and specialty chemical needs.

Hawkins’ product portfolio encompasses a wide range of chemicals, including sodium hypochlorite, sodium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, acids and specialty blends.