Legal & General Group Plc Purchases New Stake in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 46,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,671,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Hawkins in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Simplex Trading LLC boosted its position in shares of Hawkins by 246.0% during the 4th quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 346 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hawkins during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HWKN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Hawkins from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hawkins from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Barclays set a $142.00 price target on Hawkins and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set 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 issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hawkins presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.00.

Hawkins Trading Up 1.4%

HWKN opened at $126.37 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.74, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $133.70 and its 200-day moving average is $146.77. Hawkins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.04 and a 1-year high of $186.15.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $315.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.42 million. Hawkins had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 7.29%. Equities research analysts predict that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hawkins

In other news, CFO Jeffrey P. Oldenkamp acquired 1,290 shares of Hawkins stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $119.00 per share, for a total transaction of $153,510.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,402,537. The trade was a 1.25% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Douglas A. Lange acquired 910 shares of Hawkins stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $118.75 per share, for a total transaction of $108,062.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 28,169 shares in the company, valued at $3,345,068.75. The trade was a 3.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.