Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) Trading 4.9% Higher – Here’s Why

Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN)’s stock price shot up 4.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $122.02 and last traded at $121.25. Approximately 73,623 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 99,152 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BWS Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

Hawkins Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $125.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.84.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.02). Hawkins had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 8.74%. The business had revenue of $247.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $259.59 million. On average, research analysts expect that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hawkins

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HWKN. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Hawkins by 127.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 47,432 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,046,000 after buying an additional 26,568 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new stake in Hawkins in the third quarter valued at $2,021,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins in the 2nd quarter valued at $487,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Hawkins by 6.6% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 41,857 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,809,000 after buying an additional 2,599 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Hawkins by 22.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 360,714 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,825,000 after buying an additional 66,109 shares during the last quarter. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.