BWS Financial Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN)

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at BWS Financial in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $200.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. BWS Financial’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 35.36% from the stock’s current price.

HWKN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Hawkins from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hawkins presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.50.

Hawkins Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HWKN opened at $147.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $145.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.79. Hawkins has a fifty-two week low of $101.72 and a fifty-two week high of $186.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.82.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $244.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $252.51 million. Hawkins had a net margin of 7.75% and a return on equity of 16.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hawkins will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hawkins news, Director James A. Faulconbridge acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $129.29 per share, with a total value of $193,935.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 50,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,581,766.03. This represents a 3.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hawkins

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Hawkins in the fourth quarter worth about $221,000. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd raised its position in Hawkins by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd now owns 65,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,362,000 after purchasing an additional 6,800 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Hawkins by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hawkins by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 31,198 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,432,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,212,000. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.