BWS Financial Lowers Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) to Neutral

BWS Financial downgraded shares of Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $122.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Hawkins Stock Performance

NASDAQ HWKN opened at $126.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $123.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.14. Hawkins has a 12-month low of $53.64 and a 12-month high of $135.61. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $255.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $254.30 million. Hawkins had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 20.16%. Analysts anticipate that Hawkins will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. This is a boost from Hawkins’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hawkins

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hawkins by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,516,717 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $106,807,000 after buying an additional 62,224 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Hawkins by 3.3% during the first quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $947,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Hawkins by 146.0% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,341 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 6,731 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 118,017 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,064,000 after purchasing an additional 16,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hawkins by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 103,971 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,985,000 after purchasing an additional 5,545 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

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.