Bank of America Corp DE Acquires New Stake in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 90,499 Hawkins shares worth approximately $12.86 million in the second quarter, while institutional investors collectively owned 69.71% of the company.
• Hawkins insiders also bought shares, with the CFO and a vice president increasing their holdings; insiders now own 3.70% of the stock.
• Hawkins reported quarterly EPS of $1.35, missing estimates by $0.04, although revenue exceeded expectations. Analysts have an overall “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $171.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 90,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $12,860,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.43% of Hawkins at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Hawkins in the 2nd quarter worth $449,055,000. EFG International AG bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the second quarter valued at about $2,710,000. London Co. of Virginia bought a new stake in shares of Hawkins in the first quarter valued at about $26,791,000. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. grew its position in Hawkins by 4.3% during the first quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 380,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $58,448,000 after buying an additional 15,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Martin & Co. Inc. TN acquired a new stake in Hawkins during the second quarter worth about $3,500,000. Institutional investors own 69.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hawkins news, CFO Jeffrey Oldenkamp acquired 1,290 shares of Hawkins stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were purchased 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 owned 104,223 shares in the company, valued at $12,402,537. The trade was a 1.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Douglas Lange bought 910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $118.75 per share, with a total value of $108,062.50. Following the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 28,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,345,068.75. This trade represents a 3.34% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hawkins Price Performance

Hawkins stock opened at $129.03 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $128.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.77. Hawkins, Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.04 and a 12-month high of $186.15.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $315.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.42 million. Hawkins had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 7.29%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Hawkins's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $142.00 price target on Hawkins and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Hawkins from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hawkins from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, BWS Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Hawkins in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $171.00.

About Hawkins

Hawkins, Inc NASDAQ: HWKN manufactures, distributes and blends specialty chemicals and related products for customers in a range of markets. Its offerings include water-treatment chemicals, industrial chemicals, and ingredients used in health, nutrition and other applications.

The company's Water Treatment segment supplies products such as sodium hypochlorite, ferric chloride, phosphates and other chemicals used by municipalities, commercial operators and industrial customers. Its Industrial segment serves manufacturers and other businesses, while the Health and Nutrition segment provides ingredients and specialty products for food, pharmaceutical, personal-care and related applications.

Founded in 1938, Hawkins is headquartered in Roseville, Minnesota, and serves customers primarily throughout the United States through a network of manufacturing, blending, distribution and storage facilities.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HWKN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.