SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Position in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) by 126.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 5,505 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Hawkins were worth $1,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWKN. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in Hawkins by 294.0% during the second quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd now owns 59,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,398,000 after purchasing an additional 44,100 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in Hawkins during the 2nd quarter valued at $16,956,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hawkins during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,594,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hawkins in the 2nd quarter worth $332,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 478,348 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $67,981,000 after acquiring an additional 5,110 shares during the period. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hawkins Stock Down 0.4%

HWKN stock opened at $151.64 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $138.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.43. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Hawkins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.30 and a twelve month high of $186.15.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by ($0.16). Hawkins had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 7.95%.The firm had revenue of $280.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $284.42 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Hawkins’s payout ratio is 19.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hawkins news, VP Drew M. Grahek purchased 1,587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $126.34 per share, for a total transaction of $200,501.58. Following the purchase, the vice president owned 39,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,008,117.60. This represents a 4.17% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on HWKN. BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Hawkins in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Hawkins from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hawkins currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Hawkins 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.