Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Position in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 9,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,428,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new position in Hawkins in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Hawkins during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Simplex Trading LLC raised its position in shares of Hawkins by 246.0% in the fourth quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 346 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Hawkins during the 3rd quarter valued at $79,000. 69.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hawkins Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HWKN opened at $138.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.20. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.78. Hawkins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $117.98 and a twelve month high of $186.15.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $265.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.28 million. Hawkins had a return on equity of 16.08% and a net margin of 7.53%. As a group, research analysts predict that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BWS Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Hawkins from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.00.

Hawkins 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.