Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) Shares Sold by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management decreased its position in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) by 23.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,185 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 688 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Hawkins were worth $231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Hawkins by 37.6% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 350,722 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,148,000 after purchasing an additional 95,885 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Hawkins in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,466,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Hawkins by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 235,096 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,839,000 after purchasing an additional 32,670 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Hawkins by 61.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 149,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $18,353,000 after purchasing an additional 57,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hawkins in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,087,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on HWKN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hawkins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. CJS Securities started coverage on Hawkins in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Thursday, May 15th.

Hawkins Stock Down 0.7%

Hawkins stock opened at $137.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Hawkins, Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.24 and a 1-year high of $140.58. The company has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $127.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.51.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. Hawkins had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 8.66%. The firm had revenue of $245.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.69 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.82%.

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.