Public Sector Pension Investment Board Has $14.87 Million Stock Position in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) by 26.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 81,402 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,850 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Hawkins were worth $14,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Hawkins by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 282,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,122,000 after purchasing an additional 94,503 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Hawkins by 130.7% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 149,397 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,229,000 after buying an additional 84,651 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its holdings in Hawkins by 76.1% in the second quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 112,431 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,976,000 after buying an additional 48,602 shares during the period. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd boosted 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 acquiring an additional 44,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hawkins by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 134,116 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $19,057,000 after acquiring an additional 39,790 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hawkins news, Director James A. Faulconbridge acquired 1,500 shares of Hawkins stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $129.29 per share, for a total transaction of $193,935.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 50,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,581,766.03. This represents a 3.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Hawkins from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Hawkins Stock Up 1.7%

HWKN stock opened at $146.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.64. Hawkins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.30 and a fifty-two week high of $186.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.86.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $244.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $252.51 million. Hawkins had a net margin of 7.75% and a return on equity of 16.85%. On average, research analysts expect that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

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

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.