Wasatch Advisors LP Cuts Stock Position in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Wasatch Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) by 15.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 469,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 82,747 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP owned 2.25% of Hawkins worth $72,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HWKN. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in Hawkins by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 17,588 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,702,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Hawkins during the 1st quarter worth $1,428,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Hawkins by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 2,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the first quarter valued at about $384,000. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hawkins Price Performance

Hawkins stock opened at $161.59 on Friday. Hawkins, Inc. has a one year low of $117.98 and a one year high of $186.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $160.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.12. The company has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Hawkins Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HWKN. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hawkins from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BWS Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hawkins presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.00.

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.