Intech Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) by 56.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 11,602 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hawkins were worth $1,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HWKN. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Hawkins by 618.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 355,619 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $64,979,000 after buying an additional 306,143 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hawkins during the 4th quarter valued at $19,098,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Hawkins by 44.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 407,793 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $74,512,000 after buying an additional 125,444 shares during the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hawkins during the 3rd quarter valued at $11,610,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Hawkins by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,504,831 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $274,963,000 after buying an additional 41,652 shares during the last quarter. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hawkins from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.00.

Hawkins Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Hawkins stock opened at $155.07 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 39.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.76. Hawkins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.98 and a 1-year high of $186.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $265.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.28 million. Hawkins had a return on equity of 16.08% and a net margin of 7.53%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid 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 is Friday, May 29th. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.44%.

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.