Wasatch Advisors LP Reduces Stake in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Wasatch Advisors LP cut its position 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 SEC. The fund owned 469,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 82,747 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in Hawkins were worth $72,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Hawkins by 618.8% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 355,619 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $64,979,000 after purchasing an additional 306,143 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins during the 4th quarter worth $19,098,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hawkins by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 407,793 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $74,512,000 after buying an additional 125,444 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position 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 worth $151,642,000 after buying an additional 111,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hawkins by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 364,970 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $51,848,000 after buying an additional 57,800 shares in the last quarter. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hawkins from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Hawkins in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hawkins has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.00.

Hawkins Stock Performance

NASDAQ HWKN opened at $161.59 on Friday. Hawkins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.98 and a fifty-two week high of $186.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $160.18 and a 200-day moving average of $151.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

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

About Hawkins

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.