Argent Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 3,065 Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hawkins, Inc., purchasing 3,065 shares valued at approximately $436,000 in the second quarter.
• Hawkins recently declared an increase in its quarterly dividend, raising it from $0.18 to $0.19 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $1.40 that exceeded estimates of $1.33, and revenue of $293.27 million, above the consensus estimate of $278.76 million.

Argent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,065 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Hawkins by 533.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 266 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Hawkins by 118.8% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 280 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hawkins during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Hawkins during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hawkins during the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors own 69.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hawkins Price Performance

NASDAQ HWKN opened at $172.17 on Tuesday. Hawkins, Inc. has a one year low of $98.30 and a one year high of $185.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $168.77 and a 200 day moving average of $140.37. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.41, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.86. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 8.37%.The company had revenue of $293.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $278.76 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Hawkins Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Hawkins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Hawkins's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.72%.

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.

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