Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) Stock Price Breaks Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $143.17 and traded as high as $158.21. Hawkins shares last traded at $153.85, with a volume of 423,990 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HWKN. Zacks Research cut Hawkins from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins in a report on Tuesday. Barclays set a $157.00 target price on Hawkins and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hawkins from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.50.

Hawkins Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.74.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.15. Hawkins had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The firm had revenue of $313.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $302.70 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

Hawkins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a positive change from Hawkins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Hawkins’s payout ratio is presently 19.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Oldenkamp bought 1,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $119.00 per share, for a total transaction of $153,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 104,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,537. This trade represents a 1.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Douglas Lange purchased 910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $118.75 per share, with a total value of $108,062.50. Following the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 28,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,345,068.75. This trade represents a 3.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hawkins

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BOKF NA lifted its stake in shares of Hawkins by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 1,835 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hawkins by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management increased its stake in Hawkins by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 3,158 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its holdings in Hawkins by 5.8% during the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 3,044 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Hawkins by 4.0% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. 69.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hawkins

Hawkins, Inc (NASDAQ:HWKN) is a chemical manufacturer, blender and distributor serving customers across the United States. The company supplies a range of water treatment chemicals, industrial chemicals and specialty products to municipal, commercial and industrial users.

Its water treatment business provides chemicals and related solutions used in drinking water, wastewater and industrial water treatment applications. Hawkins also serves the industrial, health and nutrition, and specialty chemical markets, offering products such as chemical blends, custom formulations and other materials used in manufacturing, agriculture, food processing and pharmaceutical applications.

Founded in 1938, Hawkins is headquartered in Roseville, Minnesota, and operates through a network of manufacturing, blending, distribution and sales locations in the United States.