Ascent Group LLC Invests $3.45 Million in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Ascent Group LLC purchased a new position in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 24,314 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,454,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HWKN. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Hawkins during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in shares of Hawkins by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 694.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 69.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on HWKN. Zacks Research raised Hawkins from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Hawkins in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $200.00.

Hawkins Stock Performance

Shares of HWKN stock opened at $151.53 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $144.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.59. Hawkins, Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.72 and a 52 week high of $186.15. The company has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.36, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James A. Faulconbridge bought 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $129.29 per share, with a total value of $193,935.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is 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.