Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN Shares Sold by Rice Hall James & Associates LLC

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lessened its stake in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,187 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,020 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Hawkins worth $4,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HWKN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Hawkins from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hawkins

In other news, VP Drew M. Grahek purchased 1,587 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $126.34 per share, with a total value of $200,501.58. Following the purchase, the vice president directly owned 39,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,008,117.60. This represents a 4.17% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hawkins Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:HWKN opened at $146.82 on Friday. Hawkins, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.30 and a 52-week high of $186.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $139.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.08 EPS 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 company had revenue of $280.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $284.42 million. On average, research analysts expect that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. Hawkins’s payout ratio is presently 19.10%.

Hawkins Company Profile

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.