Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $185.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Hawkins from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th.

Hawkins Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:HWKN traded down $2.11 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $139.29. 44,950 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 160,171. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.76. Hawkins has a 52 week low of $117.98 and a 52 week high of $186.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $160.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $151.24.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $265.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $255.28 million. Hawkins had a return on equity of 16.08% and a net margin of 7.53%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hawkins will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Hawkins’s payout ratio is 19.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hawkins

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 618.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 355,619 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $64,979,000 after purchasing an additional 306,143 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia bought a new stake in Hawkins during the 1st quarter valued at $26,791,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Hawkins during the fourth quarter worth $19,098,000. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Hawkins by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 552,419 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $78,477,000 after buying an additional 131,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Hawkins by 44.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

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.