Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,504,831 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,652 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 7.20% of Hawkins worth $274,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HWKN. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hawkins by 9.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 1,017 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hawkins by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 52,778 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,590,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 83.2% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 38,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,069,000 after purchasing an additional 17,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in Hawkins in the 2nd quarter worth $205,000. Institutional investors own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

Hawkins Price Performance

HWKN stock opened at $149.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.75, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $146.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Hawkins, Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.30 and a 12-month high of $186.15.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). Hawkins had a return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 7.75%.The firm had revenue of $244.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $252.51 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Hawkins news, Director James A. Faulconbridge bought 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $6,581,766.03. The trade was a 3.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on HWKN. BWS Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Hawkins in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research raised Hawkins from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.