Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 2,365 Shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,785 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,365 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.49% of Hawkins worth $10,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 95,885 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new position in Hawkins in the 4th quarter valued at $42,466,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 32,670 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 57,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Hawkins in the 4th quarter valued at $13,087,000. Institutional investors own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HWKN has been the topic of a number of research reports. CJS Securities initiated coverage on Hawkins in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Hawkins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, BWS Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins in a report on Thursday, May 15th.

Hawkins Stock Performance

HWKN opened at $155.30 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.85. Hawkins, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.08 and a 52-week high of $156.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $134.88 and its 200-day moving average is $120.33.

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

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.82%.

Hawkins Profile

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.