Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,020,000 shares, anincreaseof43.4% from the July 15th total of 711,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 179,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.7 days. Approximately5.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately5.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 179,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HWKN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Hawkins in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. BWS Financial increased their target price on shares of Hawkins from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hawkins to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hawkins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.50.

Institutional Trading of Hawkins

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HWKN. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Hawkins by 533.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 266 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hawkins by 118.8% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 280 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Hawkins during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hawkins during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Hawkins during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hawkins Stock Performance

Hawkins stock opened at $173.58 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Hawkins has a 1-year low of $98.30 and a 1-year high of $185.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $155.19 and a 200-day moving average of $129.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.81.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. Hawkins had a net margin of 8.37% and a return on equity of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $293.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $278.76 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Hawkins will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Hawkins Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Hawkins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.72%.

Hawkins Company Profile

Hawkins, Inc operates as a specialty chemical and ingredients company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Industrial, Water Treatment, and Health and Nutrition. The Industrial segment offers industrial chemicals, products, and services to agriculture, chemical processing, electronics, energy, food, pharmaceutical, and plating industries.