Squarepoint Ops LLC Takes $2.94 Million Position in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 20,683 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,939,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hawkins by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 478,348 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $67,981,000 after acquiring an additional 5,110 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Hawkins by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 473,752 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $67,320,000 after purchasing an additional 123,030 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 50.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 282,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,122,000 after purchasing an additional 94,503 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Hawkins by 130.7% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 149,397 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,229,000 after purchasing an additional 84,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Hawkins by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 148,173 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,055,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

Hawkins Stock Down 0.3%

HWKN stock opened at $142.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $143.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.81. Hawkins, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.30 and a 52-week high of $186.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.24 by ($0.16). Hawkins had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 7.95%.The business had revenue of $280.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $284.42 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hawkins

In related news, VP Drew M. Grahek acquired 1,587 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $126.34 per share, for a total transaction of $200,501.58. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president owned 39,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,008,117.60. The trade was a 4.17% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on HWKN. BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Hawkins in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hawkins in a report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Hawkins from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hawkins currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

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.