Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) Trading 7.2% Higher – Still a Buy?

Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN)’s share price shot up 7.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $170.90 and last traded at $170.2150. 226,040 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 38% from the average session volume of 163,975 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on HWKN. BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Hawkins in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Hawkins from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hawkins in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $200.00.

Hawkins Stock Up 2.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.55.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $244.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $252.51 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hawkins, Inc. will post 3.95 EPS for the current year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. 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 19.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James A. Faulconbridge acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $129.29 per share, for a total transaction of $193,935.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,581,766.03. The trade was a 3.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hawkins

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hawkins by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,525,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $216,754,000 after acquiring an additional 20,958 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Hawkins by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,067,451 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 111,318 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in Hawkins by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 552,419 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $78,477,000 after purchasing an additional 131,850 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Hawkins by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 513,535 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $72,965,000 after purchasing an additional 13,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Hawkins by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 477,985 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $67,903,000 after purchasing an additional 122,366 shares in the last quarter. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.