Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Buys Shares of 5,197 Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,197 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $950,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Hawkins in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Hawkins during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Hawkins by 694.1% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in Hawkins by 492.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 592 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HWKN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research raised Hawkins from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Hawkins Stock Performance

Shares of Hawkins stock opened at $146.63 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.41. Hawkins, Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.30 and a 12 month high of $186.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.12, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Hawkins had a net margin of 7.75% and a return on equity of 16.85%. The business had revenue of $244.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $252.51 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James A. Faulconbridge purchased 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $129.29 per share, for a total transaction of $193,935.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 50,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,581,766.03. This trade represents a 3.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.10% 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.