Caxton Associates LLP Acquires New Shares in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,166 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $793,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HWKN. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,098,000. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in Hawkins by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 552,419 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $78,477,000 after acquiring an additional 131,850 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Hawkins by 44.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 407,793 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $74,512,000 after acquiring an additional 125,444 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Hawkins by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 477,985 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $67,903,000 after acquiring an additional 122,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Hawkins by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,067,451 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $151,642,000 after acquiring an additional 111,318 shares during the last quarter. 69.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hawkins Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HWKN opened at $139.03 on Monday. Hawkins, Inc. has a 12 month low of $117.98 and a 12 month high of $186.15. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.78. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $150.33 and its 200-day moving average is $150.50.

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

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on HWKN. Barclays set a $170.00 price target on shares of Hawkins and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $185.00.

About Hawkins

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.