Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on HWKN. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Hawkins in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hawkins in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Hawkins in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

Hawkins Trading Down 0.8%

Hawkins stock opened at $127.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.31. Hawkins has a 1 year low of $98.30 and a 1 year high of $186.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $168.01 and its 200-day moving average is $153.00. The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.03, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.84.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.24 by ($0.16). Hawkins had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 17.79%. The firm had revenue of $280.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $284.42 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Hawkins will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hawkins news, VP Drew M. Grahek bought 1,587 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $126.34 per share, for a total transaction of $200,501.58. Following the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 39,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,008,117.60. This trade represents a 4.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hawkins by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,017 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,987,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hawkins by 8.4% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its stake in Hawkins by 3.8% in the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. SkyOak Wealth LLC increased its position in Hawkins by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. SkyOak Wealth LLC now owns 2,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Hawkins by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

Hawkins Company Profile

Hawkins, Inc operates as a specialty chemical and ingredients company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Industrial, Water Treatment, and Health and Nutrition. The Industrial segment offers industrial chemicals, products, and services to agriculture, chemical processing, electronics, energy, food, pharmaceutical, and plating industries.