Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Hawkins from “strong sell” to “hold.” The analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with one Buy rating, three Hold ratings, and an average price target of $178.50.
• Hawkins exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.34 in EPS versus the $1.19 estimate and revenue of $313.82 million compared with the $302.70 million consensus.
• Company insiders recently purchased shares, while institutional ownership stands at 69.71%. Hawkins stock opened at $153.73, with a 12-month trading range of $116.04 to $174.12.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. BWS Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised Hawkins from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Barclays set a $157.00 price target on Hawkins and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.50.

Hawkins Stock Performance

Shares of HWKN stock opened at $153.73 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Hawkins has a 12-month low of $116.04 and a 12-month high of $174.12. The business's 50 day moving average is $128.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.74.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $313.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $302.70 million. Hawkins had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 15.97%. Analysts expect that Hawkins will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hawkins

In other news, CFO Jeffrey P. Oldenkamp bought 1,290 shares of Hawkins stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $119.00 per share, with a total value of $153,510.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,402,537. This trade represents a 1.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Douglas A. Lange bought 910 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $118.75 per share, for a total transaction of $108,062.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 28,169 shares in the company, valued at $3,345,068.75. The trade was a 3.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bridge City Capital LLC increased its holdings in Hawkins by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 27,617 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,480,000 after purchasing an additional 4,880 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hawkins by 2,429.7% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 71,438 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $9,001,000 after purchasing an additional 68,614 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in Hawkins by 144.8% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 3,909 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Hawkins by 6.1% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,783 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA boosted its position in shares of Hawkins by 5.6% during the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 1,835 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hawkins Company Profile

Hawkins, Inc NASDAQ: HWKN is a chemical manufacturer, blender and distributor serving customers across the United States. The company supplies a range of water treatment chemicals, industrial chemicals and specialty products to municipal, commercial and industrial users.

Its water treatment business provides chemicals and related solutions used in drinking water, wastewater and industrial water treatment applications. Hawkins also serves the industrial, health and nutrition, and specialty chemical markets, offering products such as chemical blends, custom formulations and other materials used in manufacturing, agriculture, food processing and pharmaceutical applications.

Founded in 1938, Hawkins is headquartered in Roseville, Minnesota, and operates through a network of manufacturing, blending, distribution and sales locations in the United States.

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