Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has reduced its stake in Hawkins, Inc. by 25.1%, selling 73,804 shares during the 1st quarter, bringing its total ownership to 220,220 shares valued at approximately $23.3 million.
• Hawkins, Inc. recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.40 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.33, with revenue of $293.27 million surpassing the consensus estimate of $278.76 million.
• The company has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.19 per share, payable on August 29th, reflecting a 5.56% rise from the previous $0.18 dividend.

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its holdings in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 25.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 220,220 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 73,804 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.05% of Hawkins worth $23,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Hawkins during the first quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Hawkins during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Hawkins during the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Hawkins by 27.4% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 60,395 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,397,000 after buying an additional 13,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Hawkins during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,271,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.71% of the company's stock.

Hawkins Price Performance

Shares of HWKN stock traded down $2.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $167.33. 95,760 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 183,241. Hawkins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.30 and a twelve month high of $185.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.81. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $161.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.31.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. Hawkins had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 8.37%.The company had revenue of $293.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $278.76 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This is a boost from Hawkins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Hawkins's payout ratio is 18.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Hawkins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Hawkins in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. BWS Financial increased their price target on Hawkins from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Hawkins to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hawkins has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.50.

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.