Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the four research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $200.00.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HWKN. Zacks Research raised shares of Hawkins from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, BWS Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Hawkins in a report on Monday, March 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James A. Faulconbridge bought 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $129.29 per share, for a total transaction of $193,935.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 50,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,581,766.03. This represents a 3.04% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HWKN. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Hawkins in the fourth quarter worth about $221,000. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Hawkins by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd now owns 65,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,362,000 after purchasing an additional 6,800 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Hawkins by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hawkins by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 31,198 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,432,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

Hawkins Stock Performance

Hawkins stock opened at $151.53 on Friday. Hawkins has a 52 week low of $101.72 and a 52 week high of $186.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $144.95 and a 200-day moving average of $149.10.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $244.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $252.51 million. Hawkins had a return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 7.75%. On average, analysts expect that Hawkins will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.24%.

About Hawkins

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.