State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Buys Shares of 12,654 Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new position in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 12,654 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,312,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.06% of Hawkins at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HWKN. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hawkins by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 478,348 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $67,981,000 after acquiring an additional 5,110 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Hawkins by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 282,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,122,000 after purchasing an additional 94,503 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of Hawkins by 130.7% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 149,397 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,229,000 after purchasing an additional 84,651 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Hawkins by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 148,173 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,055,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in Hawkins by 15.4% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 137,712 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,163,000 after purchasing an additional 18,388 shares during the last quarter. 69.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James A. Faulconbridge bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $129.29 per share, for a total transaction of $193,935.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 50,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,581,766.03. This trade represents a 3.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hawkins from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

Hawkins Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:HWKN opened at $146.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.89. Hawkins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.30 and a fifty-two week high of $186.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.86.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). Hawkins had a return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 7.75%.The business had revenue of $244.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $252.51 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Hawkins’s payout ratio is currently 19.24%.

Hawkins Profile

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.