Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,968 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $706,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HWKN. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Hawkins during the second quarter valued at approximately $449,055,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hawkins by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,525,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $216,754,000 after buying an additional 20,958 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,067,451 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $151,642,000 after buying an additional 111,318 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Hawkins by 31.4% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hawkins by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 513,535 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $72,965,000 after buying an additional 13,828 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HWKN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Hawkins from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays set a $142.00 price target on Hawkins and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Hawkins in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.00.

Hawkins Stock Down 1.0%

Hawkins stock opened at $117.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.27. Hawkins, Inc. has a one year low of $116.89 and a one year high of $186.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.79.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.04). Hawkins had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The firm had revenue of $315.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.42 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Hawkins’s payout ratio is 20.73%.

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.