Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Key Points

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Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,097 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 9,372 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.40% of Hawkins worth $8,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HWKN. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Hawkins by 533.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 266 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Hawkins by 118.8% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 280 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Hawkins in the first quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hawkins in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hawkins Price Performance

Shares of HWKN stock traded up $1.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $170.03. The company had a trading volume of 166,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,551. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock's 50-day moving average is $157.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.81. Hawkins, Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.30 and a 52 week high of $185.50.

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

Hawkins Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Hawkins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Hawkins's payout ratio is currently 18.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HWKN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Hawkins to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Hawkins in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. BWS Financial boosted their target price on shares of Hawkins from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hawkins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price 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.