Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) Shares Up 3.8% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) rose 3.8% on Friday . The company traded as high as $137.92 and last traded at $138.04. Approximately 39,944 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 125,272 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HWKN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Hawkins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. CJS Securities assumed coverage on Hawkins in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BWS Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Hawkins in a research report on Thursday, May 15th.

Hawkins Trading Up 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.85.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. Hawkins had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 8.60%. The company had revenue of $245.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.69 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio is 17.82%.

Institutional Trading of Hawkins

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Hawkins by 533.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 266 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Hawkins by 118.8% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 280 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Hawkins in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Hawkins in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Hawkins by 155.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 355 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

About Hawkins

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.